Swami Desikan’sSwami Desikan’sSwami Desikan’s

Śrī Varadarāja PañcāśathŚrī Varadarāja PañcāśathŚrī Varadarāja Pañcāśath

Commentary and Translation by

Sri Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari SadagOpanSri Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari SadagOpan

Sri T. N. AarAvamudhanSri T. N. AarAvamudhan

Sri SathakOpa TatachArSri SathakOpa TatachAr

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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SlOkam 1 20 SlOkam 2 28 SlOkam 3 31 SlOkam 4 34 SlOkam 5 36 SlOkam 6 38 SlOkam 7 40 SlOkam 8 43 SlOkam 9 46 SlOkam 10 48 SlOkam 11 50 SlOkam 12 52

Swamy Desikan’s Vibhava and archA anubhavams of Lord Varadhan and the importance of Sri VaradararAja PanchAsat (vrtraj pwfcactfti[f "bfbmf) by Dr. SatakOpa TatAchAr, Kaimkaryaparar, Swamy Desikan Sannidhi, Thooppul.

Slokams and Commentaries by Śrī nr simha sevā rasikan Śrī Oppiliappan Koil Varadāchāri Śathagopan

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SlOkam 13 55 SlOkam 14 57 SlOkam 15 60 SlOkam 16 63 SlOkam 17 67 SlOkam 18 69 SlOkam 19 71 SlOkam 20 74 SlOkam 21 76 SlOkam 22 78 SlOkam 23 80 SlOkam 24 82 SlOkam 25 84 SlOkam 26 86 SlOkam 27 88 SlOkam 28 90 SlOkam 29 92 SlOkam 30 94 SlOkam 31 96 SlOkam 32 98 SlOkam 33 100 SlOkam 34 102 SlOkam 35 105

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SlOkam 36 107 SlOkam 37 109 SlOkam 38 111 SlOkam 39 113 SlOkam 40 115 SlOkam 41 118 SlOkam 42 120 SlOkam 43 122 SlOkam 44 126 SlOkam 45 128 SlOkam 46 131 SlOkam 47 134 SlOkam 48 137 SlOkam 49 141 SlOkam 50 143 SlOkam 51 145

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Varadarāja Pañcāśat – A study by Dr. T.N. Āravamudhan, Principal, ThiruvayyāRu Sanskrit College

An English Summary of Dissertation

An article on ThiruvayyāRu Sanskrit College and the Eternal Relevance of Sanskrit by Sri Oppliappan Koil Varadāchāri Śathagopan

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. ïI.

Swamy Desikan’s Vibhava and archA anubhavams of Lord Varadhan

&

the importance of Sri VaradararAja PanchAsat (vrtraj pwfcactfti[f "bfbmf)

Swami Desikan—Composer of Sri Varadaraja Panchasath

By

Dr. SatakOpa TatAchAr, KaimkaryapArar,

Thooppul Swamy Desikan Sannidhi

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For the chEtanams struggling in SamsAric Ocean for aeons, Upanishads are the means for redemption. The Upanishad Vaakyam, “yathA krathu: asmin lOkE...” points out that the jeevans performing BrahmOpAsanam reap the fruits (BrahmAnubhavam) linked directly to the particular GuNam that they used for their UpAsanaas. Swamy Desikan echoes these thoughts (upAseetha GuNAdhE--), and states that the one who does the BrahmOpAsanaa enjoys the Brahman with the same guNam that he chose for his upaasanaa. He also enjoys many auspicious attributes (anantha kalyANa guNams) of the Lord for quite a long time.

LORD VARADARAJAN’S UTHSAVAMS

The annual uthsavams enjoyed by the Lord are of three kinds: (1). PourANikam (2). Saasthreeyam and (3). SampradhAyam.

During these three kinds of uthsavams, Lord Varadhan receives the MangaLAsAsanam of Swamy Desikan of Thooppul and makes the BhaagavathAs happy.

(1) POURANIKA UTHSAVAM: PurANams say that Brahmaa performs AarAdhanam for His Lord every ChithrA PourNami night on the bed of river PaalAr. This is called BrahmArAdhanam. Let us recall some specialties of this BrahmArAdhanam. Whenever Atthigiri aruLALan travels outside, the last AarAdhana Aasanam of ParyankAsanam is

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offered after He returns to the AasthAnam. The only exception is the ChithrA PourNami night, when ParyAnkAsanam is presented outside the temple. The intent is that all aspects of the AarAdhanam (six Aasanams) are enjoyed by the Lord and there is no incompleteness.

At dawn of the morning following ChithrA PourNami, Lord VaradarAjan is ready to return to Atthigiri AasthAnam. He blesses the assembled BhakthAs with an EkAntha sevai. He puts aside all His elaborate AabharaNams, Flower garlands and has just His PeethAmbharam, Yajn~Opaveetham, waist chord and His Vakshasthala Lakshmi. He has one simple garland to bless Swamy Desikan. This EkAntha Sevai was saluted by Swamy Desikan in Vibhavam, where he saluted the Lord’s neck having the marks from the tight embrace of PerumdEvi ThAyAr during the Serthi after ParyankAsanam. With this simple attire and distinguishing marks on His neck, Lord VaradarAjan arrives at Thooppul and receives the darsana thAmbhoolam from His dear Bhakthan and honors him with His single garland.

(2) SAASTHREEYA UTHSAVAM: The uthsavam referred to in the Bhagavath Saasthram of PaancharAthram is the ancient VaikAsi VisAka Uthsavam. During Swamy Desikan’s Vibhava dasai, Lord VaradarAjan was travelling on His Raaja Veedhis during the Uthsavam day. At that time, few ill intentioned ones argued that the recitation of Tamizh Dhivya Prabhandham (AazhwAr aruLiccheyalkaL) is asaasthreeyam. They protested against the Lord traveling on His Raaja Veedhis listening to the Tamizh Vedams. Swamy Desikan argued with these Kudhrushtis, defeated them and made it possible for the Lord’s Uthsavam to continue as before until this day. Lord VaradarAjan was very pleased with Swamy Desikan’s kaimkaryam and presented one of His Thirucchinnams to Swamy as a measure of His appreciation. The Desika Prabhandham of “Thirucchinna Maalai” was composed at that time by Swamy Desikan ( Detailed meaning and commentaries are

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available at http://www.sundarsimham.org )

On this Vaikaasi Uthsavam day, Lord receives MangaLAsAasanam from Swamy Desikan during day and night time.

Swamy Desikan celebrated this VaikAsi Uthsavam in Sri VaradarAja PanchAsath s l O k a m ( T u r a g a - v i g a h a r A j a -syandhanAndhOLikAdhishu--). In Thi-rucchinna Maalai Paasuram also, Swamy celebrated this uthsavam: “Aanai Pari thErin mEl Azhagar vanthAr”.

On the third day of VaikAsi Uth-savam, before dawn, Lord VaradarAjan ascends on His Garuda Vaahanam and arrives at the AazhwAr PrAkAram in response to the prayer of Swamy Nam-

mAzhwar: Won’t You come by one day to the street where I live and long for You (Avar Vedhi oru NaaL --). He blesses Swamy NammAzhwAr with His dar-sanam and then travels to Swamy Desikan Sannidhi near the Dhvaja Sthamb-ham. After that, Lord Varadhan stops near the 16 pillar Mantapam and the two giant umbrellas are held over Him and He literally runs to Thooppul Swamy De-sikan ThirumALikai (Sannidhi) with the air resonating with the Haa-HaakAram of Bhaktha Janams reciting His name loud. It is almost sunrise and the two gi-gantic umbrellas shield the Lord from the Sun of VaikAsi month. With His huge flower garland, Lord VaradarAjan blesses Swamy Desikan with His sevai and offers His Sri SathAri PrasAdhams.

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On the fifth day of VaikAsi Uthsavam, Lord of Hasthigiri travels by His Golden palanquin and arrives at Swamy Desikan’s sannidhi at Thooppul. The PannAgam (Clothing roof) is now removed so that Swamy Desikan can have an uninterrupted sevai of the NaachiyAr ThirukkOlam of the Lord.

Kanchipuram Sri Varadaraja Koil on Hasthigiri On the VaikAsi ThiruvONam day, Karigireesan presents Himself in the PuNyakODi VimAanam (“BhUshitham PuNyakODyaa..”). He removes all the sins of His bhakthAs and let their PuNyams grow. He arrives at Thooppul to the accompaniment of the Dhivya Prabhandha GhOshti in the front and the Vedha PaarAyaNa GhOshti following Him. Here at His dear Bhakthan’s sannidhi, He receives darsana ThAmbhUlam from Swamy Desikan, who has been waiting for Him eagerly. Lord VaradarAjan honors Swamy with SathAri, Maalai and Parivattam. PrasAdham distribution for the GhOshti takes place and afterwards Swamy bids his reluctant farewell to the Lord.

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While traveling on His horse (Turagam), Lord VaradarAjan stops near Thooppul, turns a little in that direction and gives His darsana saubhAgyam from the distance. It is as though He is telling Swamy Desikan that He has to rush on to Bhaktha rakshaNam and He has not forgotten Swamy even in that hurry and He will return soon for a leisurely visit.

(3) SAMPRADHAYAKOTHSAVAM:

It is our duty as SishyAs to eulogize our AchAryan and to make Him the object of our meditation for the MahOpakArams that they have rendered to us. On the avathAra ThirunALL (PurattAsi SravaNam) of Swamy Desikan, He has a wonderful kramam of traveling to Hasthigiri from Thooppul on the golden palanquin sent by the Lord and performs the most moving MangaLAsAsanam for the Lord with many of His Sri Sookthis. The scene brimming with the thousands of devotees on anuyAthrA with Swamy Desikan makes the garbha gruham look like another Srivaikuntam. One does not think of the archai of Lord VaradarAjan and join with Swamy Desikan to state that they are not interested in Sri Vaikuntam and the Lord’s sevai there as long as they could enjoy His dhivya soundharyam right here on top of Hasthigiri (Vaikunta VaasEapi mE nAbhilAsha:). EmperumAn as Lord VaradharAjan is moved by the akalmasha (blemishless) Bhakthi of Swamy and blesses every one assembled as anuyAthrikAs.

The other sampradhAya Uthsavam goes back to AchArya RaamAnuja’s days, when latter was rescued by the dhivya dampathis of Kanchi, who took on the guise of the hunter couple and brought RaamAnujaa from the forests of DaNDakAraNyam to Their Raajadhani. On this day, Lord Varadhan blesses RaamAnuja at Saalai KiNaRu, presents RaamAnujA with the PeethAmbharam that He adorned and travels with Him to Thooppul Sannidihi of the Bhagavath RaamAnuja SiddhAndha nirdhAraNa Saarvabhoumar, Swamy Desikan. Here,

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Thooppul KulamaNi, who had Lord VaradharAjan as His AarAdhanam (VandhE yajantham Varadham savaaram--) performs AarAdhanam for the Lord in arcchA form (from SvAgatham, SannidhyAsanam, argya, Paadhya, AachamaneeyAthi upachArams and then nivEdhanam. The PrasAdham for the Lord is next presented to Swamy Desikan’s AchAryan, Bhagavath RaamAnujar before he partakes it and then distributes it to the GhOshti. It is our tradition that it is more appropriate for BhagavAn’s anugraham to come from AchArya Mukham instead of directly from the Lord. It is in this context the garland worn by the Lord is presented to RaamAnuja first and then is given by Him to Swamy Desikan. This uthsavam is in commemoration of the starting of the adhyayana uthsavam due to the victory of Swamy Desikan over the kudhrushtis, who contended that AzhwArs’ dhivya Prabhandhams were not at a par with Sanskrit Vedam and therefore they should not be used in Uthsavams. This one day Uthsavam is considered as Kruthajn~athA vishkaraNam (expression of gratitude) by the Lord and also for the many SrI Sookthis in Sanskrit and Tamizh on Him compared to the SaamAnya MangaLAsAsanam of the AzhwArs. Therefore, the traditionalists believe that the Lord comes in person to Thooppul home of Swamy Desikan to honor him once a year. The essence of Desika Darsanam is summarized as the 74th e-book in the Sundara Simham series(http://www.sundarasinham.org). Most of the Sri Sookthis of Swamy Desikan with their meanings and commentaries are available for your enjoyment at: http://www.sundarasimham.org http://www.ahobilavalli.org When one looks into and enjoys the majesty of these uthsavams at Kaanchi enjoyed by Swamy Desikan, when he was in Vibahavm and today in his archaa form, one comes to the conclusion that there is no difference in the magnitude of Aanandha anubhavam of Swamy Desikan. This year’s Uthsavam schedule is included at the end. Please enjoy every day of the Uthsavam and receive the Lord’s and the AchAryan’s munificent anugrahams!

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! vrtraj pwfcactfti[f "bfbmf

sfvami EtSik[f catitft sfEtatfrgfkqilf `Enkmf. tivfy

Etcgfkqilf nmT Tafpakfytftalf `nft `nft 'mfepRma[f

tiRcfecvi catfTvtilf^l, like !rgfkmf tiRm^l etc., but nmf

sfvamiAy `[fEb `Adkfklmf eka]fdvaf nmf `Rqfvrt[f,

~[pFyalf sfvami EtSik[idtftilf uqfq `pima[tftalf on

citfra epq]afmi day and cIvarmf utfsvmf days paftftiyak

vrtraj pwfcactfAt tiRcfecvi catfti[ pibEk niEvt[mf

k]fdRQkibaaf, more than that on et[fE[ai utfsvmf in tiRmwfc

[ kdfFymf time Etsik[f !sJkftiAy tiRcfecvi catftiEy

niEvt[mf nAdepBkibT. On other days without mnftfrp<xfpmf no

niEvt[mf, without !paxfy sJtfrmf and vrtraj pwfcactf

(atleast one slOkam) no mnftfrp<xfpmf. So every day after hearing atleast one

slOkam from vrtraj pwfcactf, Etvatiraj[f niEvt[mf k]

fdBQvT ;[fBmf ~cartftilf uqfqT, so that we can understand

pwfcactfti[f "bfbmf.

You have mentioned so many !paxfy vixymf in pwfcactf, like that

“sama[fy p<tfti jnkcfSfc” this is for “:kfxatfytikr]mf” so that

here in “:kfxatfytikr]mf sfRtvacfc” sJtfrmf recited in

mnftfrp<xfpmf.

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SOME UTHSAVAMS AND SLOKAMS:

1. vrd tv ivlaekyiNt xNya> (varada tava vilokayanti dhanyāh ) – Slokam

46, ekantaseva on 4th day.

2. AinÉ&t pirrMÉE (anibhr ta parirambhaih ) – Slokam 47,

citfra epqaf]mi tiRmfp<kqilf EtSik[i[f maiyaAt.

3. turg ivhgraj (turaga vihagarāja) – Slokam 48,

kRd EsAv, plflkfK, KtiAr, vahngfkqilf

mgfkqasas[mf and maiyaAt.

4. VyatNvana té[ tu¦sI .... devta siÚxÄam! (vyātanvānā tarun a tul asī....

devatā sannidhattām) - Slokam 50, on PurattAsi SrAvaNam day at garbhagruham, 'mfepRma{kfK mik smIptftilf.

5. s Tv< s @v rÉsae .... (sa tvam sa eva rabhaso) - Slokam 40, Gajendra

moksham.. (Adi Garudan)

6. ÉUyae ÉUy> pu¦k ....( bhūyo bhūyah pulaka...) - Slokam 45, on Purattāsi

SrāvaNam day, sfvami EtSik{kfK ~[nft paxfpmf.

7. Tv< cet! àsIdis .... ÉgvÚpvgR @v (tvam cet prasīdasi ..... bhagavan

apavarga eva) - Slokam 43, !mtf `zkiy cigfkaf Mtliy

~caafyafkqi[f Ecaftftiyilf `Rqf vrt[f ni[fb epRAmAy

upnfyasmak namf ecvicf cayfkfKmf cmymf.

8. inrNtr< .... (nirantaram....) - Slokam 49,

namf vrt^[ ~caafy{d[f `{pvikfKmf cmytftilf nmkfK

kiAdkfKmf `{pvmf ;nft Ecaftfti EcAvEy EpaTmf

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EmaXmf Ev]fdamf '[fB.

9. #it ivihtmudar< .....(iti vihtam udāram....) - Slokam 51,

namf pfrtftiyXmak epBmf pl[fkqf.

10. turg ivhgraj (turaga vihagarāja) - Slokam 48, like this uthsava anub-

havam in Hamsasandesam and thirucchinnamAlai.

11. hStIz Ê>o ..... àTyômÃilrsaE tv in¢haôe (hastīśa duhkha ... pratyas-

tram añjalih asau tava nigraha astre) - Slokam 30, Swami Desikan shows to us what is the prathyastram in front of emperuman nigraha asthram? That is “anjali” on Purattāsi SrAvaNam day. Only on that day Swami Desikan has anjali hastam instead of the usual SrIkOsa Jn~anamudrA.

12. Swamy says in adaikkalappattu, “umtFkqf....`wfcel[kfkrmf

AvtfT”. So we can understand that Varadan’s hastam is abhaya hastam. But Swamy called Varadan as

“za¼RxNva Tvya=ip variytu< n zKy< inyRNÇ[< pir[miNt ....krIz

(śārn ga dhanvā tvayāpi vārayitum na śakyam niryantran amparinamanti....karīśa) – Slokam 38. How it is possible? Yes, Swamy Desikan smArayathi “vilfkEqaD epRmf ka[ilf ndnft EprRqaq[f,

'mfepRma[Arkf kapfpabfbiy viRtftanfttfAt. Yes, from now on until anushtana kula uthsavam day, Emperuman offers sevai with His sArangam and not abhayahastam.

“Sathyam vidhatum nijabruthya bhAshitam”, nrusimhavataram like this, kachitanil kaN kodukkum PerumaL to prove Swamy words “karigiripater vaha vegavadootan”, etc, runs with great speed even today by empowering His SrI Paadham ThAngis ! pat tagfkikqalf Evk-

mak 'ZnftRQkibaaf.

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`Rqf vrtaf vazfk, `Rqf vrt[f `Rqf epbfb namf

T\pfp<lf Klm]i vazfk vazfkEv.

krIz pZyem prZzt< sma> (kareeśa! paśyema paraśśatam samA:)

'[fB mdfDmf namf pfraaftftipfEpamf.

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Śrī Varadarāja PañcāśatŚrī Varadarāja PañcāśatŚrī Varadarāja Pañcāśat

Annotated Commentary in English

by

“ Śrī nr“ Śrī nr simha sevā rasika ”simha sevā rasika ”

Śrī Oppliappan Koil Varadāchāri ŚatŚrī Oppliappan Koil Varadāchāri Śat hakopanhakopan

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SCHEME OF TRANSLITERATION

Vowels:

anusvara m

visarga h ( > )

A Aa # $ % ^

a ā i ī u ū

\ § @ @e Aae AaE

r r e ai o au

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Consonants

Gutturals k O g " '

ka kha ga gha n

Palatals c D d xe |

ca cha ja jha ñ

Cerebrals q Q f F [

t a t ha d d ha n a

Dentals t W d x n

ta tha da dha na

Labials p ) b É m

pa pha ba bha ma

Semi-vowels y R l v

ya Ra la va

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Sibilants s - s as in sun

z - ś (soft) palatal sibilant pronounced between

“sa” as in Sun and “sha” as in shun

; - sha (or s ) ; ] - ksha (or ks )

Note: Used sha or ksha

Aspirate ¦ - l

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. ïI>.

ïImte ingmaNt mhadeizkay nm>

ïIman! ve»qnawayR> kivtaikRkkesrI,

vedaNtacayRvyaeR me siÚxÄa< sda ùid.

śrīmān ven kat anāthāryah kavitārikakesarī |

vedāntācāryavaryo me sannidhattām sadā hrdi ||

SLOKAM 1

iÖrd izoir sIça sÒvan! pÒ yaene>

turg svn ve*a< Zyam¦ae hVyvah>,

klz jlix kNya v‘rI kLpzaoI

klytu k…zl< n> kae=ip kaé{y raiz>. 1.

dvirada śikhari sīmnā sadmavān padma yoneh

turaga savana vedyā m śyāmal o havyavāhah |

kalaśa jaladhi kanyā vallarī kalpa śākhī

kalayatu kuśala m nah kopi kārunya rāśih ||

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INTRODUCTION:

Swāmy Deśikan seeks the anugraham of the

matchless embodiment of compassion, Lord

Varadarājan, who is always united with His Mahā

Devi. Swāmy prays to the Vilakshana karunā mūrti,

Lord Varadarājan, who appeared at the agni kuntam

of the asvameda yajñam performed on top of

Hasthigiri by His son, Brahma Devan and granted

latter the supreme boon of Darsana sākshāthkāram

(Bliss of seeing and enjoying His divine form

directly).

Swāmy Deśikan’s Mangal āsāsanam is that the Lord of infinite compassion

stands on top of Hasthigiri for all Yugams in response to His son’s desire as the

26th tatthvam (as Īswaran) and lords over the 24 Prakruthi tatthvams and the

Jīvan, which is the 25th tatthvam in Śrī Visishtādhvaitha Siddhāntham. Swāmy

Deśikan reveals to us that the Lord stands on Hasthigiri and provides

protection for all the beings of this and the other worlds.

MEANING:

On the upper reaches of the hill of Hasthigiri, Perarul ālan has created a

permanent residence for Himself. Once upon a time Brahma Devan performed

an asvamedha Yaagam. Brahma Devan’s Yāga Vedhi (Homa kun dam for

sustaining the Yāga agni: utthara vEdhi) was constructed by the divine

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architect Viswakarama on top of Hasthigiri. Perarulāl an (Lord Varadharājan)

was pleased with the Yajñam performed by His son and manifested Himself in

that utthara vEdhi. Lord Varadarājan was resplendent at that time like the fire

with a bluish black hue. Here, the natural compassion of the boon-granting

Lord is accentuated multifold by the union with His Divine Consort, who

appears like a golden creeper embracing the Karpaga tree. May this Lord of

limitless compassion bless us with all the Purushārthams all the way up to

Moksham!

COMMENTARY:

adiyEn’s commentary will be drawn from great commentaries by Varadha

Gun āmr ta Varshi Rā. Śrī Srinivāsa Varada Tatācchār Swāmy, Vaikun tha Vāsis

Sevā Swāmigal , V.N. Śrī rāma Desikācchār Swāmi and Vāvadhūka Villivalam

nārāyan ācchār Swāmy. Mine is then a collage of commentaries for all of the

Varadarāja Bhakthās to enjoy His Gun ānubhavam at one place.

On this Sathya Vrata Kshetram, the Lord stands on top of the Elephant shaped

hill (Hastigiri) with Periya Pirātti and is like a Kalpaka tree granting all the

boons that one desires. It is a kshetram that is desired both by the Lord and His

Bhāgavathās, who perform blemishless Kaimkaryams to their Lord and His

Devi. The Lord’s permanent abode of residence itself has the power to destroy

all of our sins because the Lord sanctifies this hill with His presence on top of

Hasthigiri (dvirada śikhari sīmnā sadmavān). This Mangal āsāsanam of the hill

of Hasthigiri in the first slOkam of Śrī Varadarāja Pañcāśat is similar to the

Mangal āsāsanam of Thiruvenkatam hills in the first slOkam of dayā Śatakam.

In his Śrī Varadarāja Stavam, KurEsar saluted the Hasthigiri (Elephant Hill) as

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“karigirim samāAśraye”. Here on top of the Hasthigiri (dviradagiri sīmnā), the

Supreme Lord is saluted by all the four Vedās and whose glories can not be

adequately described by the Upanishads or by the minds of Yogis. Here all

doubts about the Lord not being the Supreme Devan and being nirvisesha

Brahman will be banished on worshipping Lord Varadarājan at His abode on

Karigiri. In this context, KurEsar observes “samśayam asau giri: nudati hai”.

The Lord is worshipped as Hasthigireesan or atthiyūrān in reverence to the

peak of the hill that He has chosen for His eternal residence (nitya vāsam).

Swāmy Deśikan salutes the Lord of Hasthigiri in his Śrī Sūkti, Panniru nāmam

For detailed meaning, please see the e-book available at http://

www.sundarasimham.org/ebooks/ebook18.htm) as Mūrtis at the 12 pundra

sthānams (Keśavan, nārāyan an, mādhavan, Govindan, Vishn u, Madhusūdanan,

trivikraman, Vāmanan, Śridharan, hrshikeśan, Padmanābhan and dāmodaran)

in this way:

“Vāran a VeRpil Mazhai muhil pOl ninRa Maayavane” -- nārāyan an

“tholl atthigiri ChudarE” -- Madhavan

“atthimāmalai mel ninRa pun niyane”-- Govindan

“Karigiri mel ninRa KaRpakame” -- Vishnu

“Vāran a VeRppin Mazhai muhile”“ -- Madhusūdanan

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“Karigiri mel Varam tanthidum MannavanE”“ --trivikraman

“atthi Māmalai mel ninRa acyutanE”“ – Śridharan

“Sindhūrācala sevakane” ---Padmanābhan

“atthiūRin Maragathame”-- dāmodaran

sadmavān - Here on top of Hasthigiri (dvirada śikhari sīmnā sadmavān), the

Lord has nithya vāsam (eternal residence). He is there in all the four yugams.

He is Prathyaksham to Ādhi Śeshan in Kali Yugam. All the Jīvarāsis can see

and enjoy Him with their own physical eyes (Māmsa cakshus). On this hill

situated on the northern bank of river Vegavathi, the Lord gives us His blessed

sevai on top of Hasthigiri.

padma yoneh turaga savana vedyām - padma yoni is Brahma devan, who took

his birth in the divine lotus growing out of the Lord’s nābhi. Brahma Devan

performed the asvameda Yāgam with great devotion. The Lord responded to

His son’s prayer and appeared in the middle of the Utthara vEdhi as Lord

Varadarājan with the pun yakoti Vimānam. All this glorious events are

celebrated by Swāmy Deśikan in his “Meyviratha Mānmiyam”. Swāmy

Deśikan alludes to these vaibhavams on Hasthigiri through reference to

“padma yoneh : turaga savana vedyām”.

śyāmal o havyavāhah - The Fire (Agni) had the bluish black Śyāmal a varn am

as the Poornāhūti of Brahma Devan’s asvameda Yāgam was completed. That

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dark hued Agni was none other than the Śyāmal a Mūrti gained by the Yajñam

of Brahma Devan. The normal fire will have a red hue but this unique fire was

dark blue in color because it was the neela megha Śyāmal an that was standing

in the middle of the agni kun dam to bless Brahma Devan. That flood of JyOthi

was denoting the Parathvam of the Lord Varadarājan. Unlike the regular Agni

that can burn and blister, this One was a cooling downpour, which quenches

the samsāric heat. The immense Dayā, Soulabhyam (easy accessibility), and

Sousīlyam (reaching down even to the lowest) of Lord Varadarājan is denoted

by the choice words of this slOkam: “śyāmal o havyavāhah ”. KurEsar salutes

this Śyāmal a Mūrty as “neelamegha nibham”. This is a bluish-black flood of

jyOthi. It is a neela megam (dark hued rainy cloud) pregnant with the rain of

compassion. It is Self-manifested.

kalaśa jaladhi kanyā vallarī kalpa śākhī - Swāmy Deśikan chose these words to

remind us of the deep meanings of the sacred dvaya Mantram, the second of

the three esoteric mantrams. Dvaya Mantram is used as Śaran āgati anushtāna

mantram. In the first half, Śriman nārāyan a sabdham refers to the upāyam of

Moksham. The Lord is visualized as the Kalpaka tree (kalpa śākhī) entwined

with the golden creeper (vallarī) that incarnated from the Milky ocean as

Perumdevi Thāyār (kalaśa jaladhi kanyā). In the second half of dvayam

(Śrimate nārāyan āya namah ), Śriman nārāyan ā’s presence is indicated in the

upāya and phaladasai with Śrī Devi. They are yEka Śeshi dampathis. They are

never ever away from each other (anapāyini tattvam). Śrī Devi has sama

dharmams with Him as His sahadharmini.

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ko api kārunya rāśih - The three sambhandhams and the ten auspicious gunams

of the Lord of Hasthigiri is hinted here by Swāmy Deśikan to highlight His

Unique Kārun ya gun am that propels Him to grant us all boons desired by us.

The three sambhandhams (connections) of the Lord with us as Jīvātmās are:

(1) Sarva Śeshitvam: Master of all Jīvans,

(2) Sarvādhāratvam - He being the foundation of all and holding them

(3) Sarva niyantā - His role as the niyantā (Commander) of all.

The ten kalyAna GuNams are:

(1) Karunai ( Dayāa, Krupai),

(2) Soulabhyam,

(3) Souseelyam,

(4) Vātsalyam,

(5) Kruthagnatvam (Gratefulness),

(6) Sarvajñatvam (Omniscience),

(7) Sarva saktitvam (Omnipotence),

(8) Satya sanklapatvam (never changing from His sankalpam),

(9) Paripūrn atvam and

(10) Parama udhāratvam (being a great Val lal) .

Among all these sambhandhams and Kalyān a gunams, the Gunam of krupā or

Karun ai becomes Supreme. If He did not have His unique Karun ai (kOapi

vilakshana kārunyam) no one can escape His wrath over their trespasses of His

commands. That is the saving grace. When He vows to protect us (makes His

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sankalpam), no one can oppose it. We do not have anymore bhīthi from

Samsāram once He vows to protect us because of our Śaran āgati anushtānam.

He is known as “svetara samasta vastu vilakshana:” because of His unparal-

leled Karun ā Gunam. Because of His Karunā Gun am, He stands on the top of

Hasthi Giri as a Kalpaka (wish granting) tree. He is sarva Phala Pradhan of a

unique kind and is therefore saluted as “Vilakshan a kārunya rāśih”.

kalayatu kuśala m nah - Lord Varadarājan (PerarulAlan) is Sakala Phala Prad-

han. He blesses us with all desired saubhāgyams including Moksha Phalan. He

is Lakshmi Visishtan (united with Lakshmi); He is Sakala Kalyān a Gun a

Visishtan, Dhivya Mangal a Vigraha Visishtan. This is the way a Sri

Vaishn avan comprehends the Para Brahma svarūpam. He grows our āchāram,

anushtānam and Vairāgyam; He leads us towards a Sadācāryan and encourages

us to perform our Prapatthi out of His Parama Kārunyam. He blesses us with

Kaimkarya ruchi during the post-prapatthi period and at the time of shuffling

our mortal coils leads us to His Supreme abode to perform nithya

kaimkaryams there. Our Āchārya Sārvabhauman prays for all these saubhāg-

yams to come our way (kalayatu kuśala m nah). Our karunā Mūrty, Swāmy

Deśikan prays on behalf of all of us to the embodiment of Karunai and asks

Him to drench us with His dayā laden downpours.

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SLOKAM 2

ySyanuÉavmixgNtumz²…vNtae

muýNTyɼ‚rixyae muin savRÉaEma>,

tSyEv te Stuit;u sahsmZnuvan>

]NtVy @; Évta kir zEl naw. 2.

yasyānubhāvamadhigantumaśaknuvanto

muhyantyabha n gura dhiyo muni sārvabhaumāh |

tasyaiva te stutishu sāhasamaśnuvānah

kshantavya esha bhavatā kari śaila nātha ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of Hasthigiri! There are great sages like Vyāsar and Parāśarar in this

world. There are not many things that are beyond their comprehension. Their

intellect is of such caliber. Even these great scholars stumble, when it comes to

describing fully Your nectarine gunams. While Thou art beyond the grasp of

such lofty sages, adiyEn of meager intellect has emboldened myself to praise

Your limitless glories. This act of mine is a brash one and is an apacārAm.

adiyEn begs You to forgive this rash act of mine.

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COMMENTARY:

kari śaila nātha! abha n gura-dhiyah muni sārvabhaumāh yasya anubhāvam

adhigantum aśaknuvantah - In the second slOkam, Swāmy Deśikan begs the

Lord of Kari Śailam to bear with his bravado to eulogize Him, who is the

Supreme Being and can not be praised adequately even by the great sages

with sharp minds. “yasya anubhāvam adhigantum aśaknuvantah muhyanti” are

the key words. Even the Muni Sārvabhaumah , who are endowed with immense

skills to create great itihāsams and Purān ams, classify Vedās are unable to

fathom and describe adequately the limitless Kalyān a gun ams of the Lord.

These Maharishis like Vālmikī, Parāśara, Vyāsa, Sukha Brahmam have

attempted and given up in their efforts to understand and describe the Lord’s

auspicious attributes. Swāmy Deśikan admits that he knows about their

struggles and yet is impudent enough to attempt to praise Lord Varadarājan’s

indescribable Vaibhavam in the form of a Stuti. Knowing that the great Munis

were powerless to comprehend the glories of the Lord fully (yasya anubhāvam

adhigantum aśaknuvantah ), Swāmy Deśikan states that he is wading brashly

into such an effort (te stutishu sāhasam aśnuvānah eshah ) and asks the Lord to

forgive him for that wild attempt. Swāmy remembers the aparādha Kshāman a

gunam of Lord Varadarāja for forgiving his bold act.

Bhagavān’s svarūa, rūpa, Gun a, avatāra Vaibhava prasiddhi make the great

sages giddy, while they attempt to praise them adequately. They give up.

Swāmy Deśikan says that his effort is a miniscule one compared to theirs and

yet he is emboldened to engage in this stuti of his Ārādhana Mūrti and seeks

the pardon of the omniscient, forgiving Varadhan along the lines shown by

KurEsar in his Varadarāja stavam:

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Aye ! dya¦ae ! vrd ! ]mainxe !

ivze;tae ivñjnIn ! ivñd !

iht} ! svR} ! sm¢zi´k !

àsý ma< àapy daSymev te.

aye! dayal O! varada! kshāmānidhe!

viśeshatO viśvajanīna! viśvada!

hitajña! sarvajña! samagra śaktika!

prasahya mām prāpaya dāsyameva te ||

-- Varadarāja stavam, slOkam 93

This sāhasam of Swāmy Deśikan has blessed us with the delectable and divine

stOtram to use in our nityānusandhānam.

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SLOKAM 3

janÚnaidivihtan! Aprax vgaRn!

Svaimn! Éyat! ikmip v …mh< n z´>,

AVyaj vTsl twa=ip inr»‚z< ma<

vaTsLymev Évtae muorI kraeit. 3.

jānan anādi vihitān aparādha vargān

svāmin bhayāt kimapi vaktumaham na śaktah |

avyāja vatsala tathā=pi nira n kuśam mām

vātsalyam eva bhavato mukharī karoti ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of the Universes! adiyEn realizes now that I have accumulated

countless bundles of sins over a very long time through transgression of Your

commands and am standing before You as an aparādhi. Therefore, adiyEn is

afraid to approach You and present before you few words of salutation about

Your limitless vaibhavam (glories). In spite of adiyEn’s disqualifications and

unfitness, I have come forward without fear or shame to praise You. There is

only reason for such uncontrollable behavior on my part. That is Your inherent

love and affection (Vāthsalyam) towards all jīva rāsis (assembly of sentient).

That Vāthsalya gun am of Yours overlooks all the blemishes and mistakes.

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adiyEn is emboldened by that limitless love of Yours to open my mouth to

utter a few words in Your praise.

COMMENTARY:

Swāmy Deśikan states in this slOkam that the svābhāvika (intrinsic) dayā of

the Lord propels him to eulogize Him. Swāmy Deśikan continues to compare

the greatness of the Lord and his own lowliness and proceeds further with his

eulogy a great sense of wonderment about his attempt. He recognizes that

Bhagavān’s natural affection (Vāthsalyam) for the chEtanams, forgiving nature

are the motivating factors for him to continue with his stuti.

Swāmy Deśikan also takes into account his many defects and unfitness to

engage in this bold attempt in a spirit of naicchyānusandhānam and Kārpan

yam. He describes himself and his inadequacies with a great sense of humility:

“anādi vihitān aparādha vargān jānan aham”. adiyEn recognizes the immense

bundles of sins of mine accumulated over time immemorial. He stands before

Lord Varadarājan in a helpless and humble state and concedes that his Pāpa

rāsis will stand in the way of his attempts to eulogize the Lord and appeals to

the Lord to bless him in a mood of Kārpan yam. He concedes further that his

wild, uncontrollable act will be tamed by the intrinsic karunai of Lord

Varadarājan and lead to the completion of this stuti. The prayer based on

Kārpan yam is reminiscent of the passage in the 99th slOkam of Dayā Śatakam,

where Swāmy Deśikan addresses the Dayā devi at Thiruvenkatam: “tvad vāran

am mām svayam anugraha śru n galābhi: baddhvā gruhānā”. Swāmy says here:

I am like Your wild elephant in rut. Please tie me down with the chains of Your

anugraham and hold me.

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avyāja vatsala - Vātsalyam is the adbhutha gun am of the Lord, which

overlooks our defects and extends His affection. Swāmy Nammāzhwār

describes this Vātsalyam of the Lord that overlooks and outweighs his defects:

“neesanEn niRaivonRilEn, yenn kan Pāsam vaittha Param Chudar sOthikke”.

Swāmy Nammāzhwār says that he is an asampūrn an when it comes to ātma

gunams and is lowly and yet the Vātsalyam (Pāsam) shown by the Lord

towards him makes the Lord proud and puts His affection to nithya Sūris at a

lower level. Swāmy Deśikan concedes that it is this unique vāthsalyam of the

Lord that propels him to engage in the samarpan am of this stuti (avyāja

vatsala! bhavatah vātsalyam eva nira n kuśam mām mukharī karoti). There is no

special reason for the Lord to display His Vāthsalyam. It is avyājam. It is

intrinsic. It relates to the Śeshatvam and Dāsyatvam of the jīvan to the Lord,

the Sarva Śeshi (Master of All ). It has no time limits and flows continuously.

All these tatthvams are hinted in this choice salutation, “avyāja vatsala”.

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SLOKAM 4

ik< Vyahraim vrd Stutye kw< va

o*aetvt! àl"u s»…ict àkaz>,

tNme smpRy mit< c srSvtI— c

TvamÃsa Stuit pdEyRdh< ixnaeim. 4.

kim vyāharāmi varada stutaye katham vā

khadyotavat pralaghu sa n kucita prakāśah |

tanme samarpaya matim ca sarasvatīm ca

tvāmañjasā stuti padairyadaham dhinomi ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord Varadarājā! The illumination provided by the fire fly is very limited

in scope. Similarly the reach of my intellect is very limited. Handicapped by

this insignificant intellect of mine, adiyEn is stumbling about the proper choice

of words to engage in Your gun ānubhavam and do not know a way to proceed.

You are Varadhan, the boon giver. Please bless adiyEn therefore to sing

exquisitely about Your anantha Kalyān a gun ams so that You are pleased and

grant adiyEn the power of intellect (Mathi) and speech (Vāk).

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COMMENTARY:

Swāmy Deśikan beseeches the Lord of Kāñci to bless him with the Jñānam

and the power of speech (matim ca sarasvatīm ca samarpaya) to create this

stOtram on Him. Swāmy Deśikan states here that he is a poet of limited

intellect and he needs to be blessed with Ātmīka Jñānam and Kavithvam to

undertake this stuti. Swāmy Deśikan seeks asankuca, Paripūrna Jñānam for

completing his task. He compares his Jñāam to the insignificant luster of a fire

fly (khadyotavat pralaghu sa n kucita prakāśah) and seeks the boon of Mathi

and Sarasvatī to please the Thiruvullam of the Lord with the right kind of

speech (tvām aham stuti padhaih añjasā yat dhinomi, matim ca saravatīm ca

me samarpaya). Please bless my mind to be filled with the right kind of speech

that would match Your glory. Stuti padams (groups of words used in the

eulogy) should please You, who is Stuti Priyan. May adiyEn’s Jñānam and

Sarasvatī be fragrant like the Mallikai flowers that blossom in the evening!

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SLOKAM 5

mCDi´ maÇ g[ne ikimhaiSt zKy<

zKyen va tv krIz ikmiSt saXym!,

y*iSt saxy mya tdip Tvya va

ik< va Évet! Évit ikiÂdnIhmane. 5.

macchakti mātra gan ane kimihāsti śakyam

śakyena vā tava karīśa kimasti sādhyam |

yadyasti sādhaya mayā tadapi tvayā vā

kim vā bhavet bhavati kiñcidanīhamāne ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of atthigiri! There is precious little that can happen with the power of

my meager intellect. Even if adiyEn succeeds in my feeble efforts, there are

insignificant gains for you from my labored efforts. If perchance there are

some gains for You as a Paripūrnan, please use adiyEn as an instrument to

make that happen. If You empower me to engage in any kaimkaryam for You,

it would be like Yourself performing it directly (svasmai svayameva

kāritavān). There is nothing that one can attempt to do without Your sankalpam

standing behind that act. Therefore, adiyEn beseeches You to enable me to

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compose this eulogy about Your auspicious attributes and relationships

(sambhandhams).

COMMENTARY:

Swāmy begs the Lord to make him the instrument of His sankalpam for

pleasing Him with his stuti kaimkaryam. Swāmy Deśikan reminds us that we

can not accomplish anything with our sakthi and that the Lord’s anugraha

sankalpam alone can make our efforts successful. Swāmy invites our attention

to what is the essence of Bhagavath Śāstrams here: Kaimkaryams can not be

done in a willful and selfish way; they have to be done with

Sāstrokta niyamam. They have to be backed up by the anugraha sankalpam of

the Lord and not in a manner that would displease Him. Swāmy asks

appropriately:

“bhavati anīhamāne kim vā bhavet?”.

If You do not desire, nothing will happen. Please execute what You desire

through me and use me as Your instrument in this connection (yati asti mayā

sādhaya, tadapi tvayā vā).

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SLOKAM 6

StaeÇ< mya ivrict< TvdxIn vaca

TvTàItye vrd yt! tidd< n icÇm!,

AavjRyiNt ùdy< olu iz]ka[a<

mÃUin pÃr zk…Nt ivjiLptain. 6.

stotram mayā viracitam tvadadhīna vācā

tvatprītaye varada yat tadidam na citram |

āvarjayanti hr dayam khalu śikshakān ām

mañjūni pañjara śakunta vijalpitāni ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord Varadarāja! You have blessed adiyEn with the power of speech.

adiyEn uses that blessing to praise You. Thou art pleased even with this

stOtram full of imperfections and express Your joy. There is no wonder that

Sarveśvaran like You experiencing joy over my effort. The rich ones in this

world keep parrots in cages at their homes and train them to speak a few

words. The incoherent prattle by these birds create joy to the minds of the

trainers. In a similar vein, adiyEn is inside the cage of this body and has been

blessed with the faculty of speech by You and it is no wonder that You are

pleased with adiyEn’s eulogy taught by You (“kūnduk-kilyin mazhalai pecchu,

kaRpitthu vaitha Prabhuvin manatthaye kavaruvathu illayaa?”).

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COMMENTARY:

Swāmy Deśikan states here that this stOtram empowered by Lord Varadarājan

will please Him and that should not surprise anyone (tvad adhīna vācā mayā

viracitam stotram tvat prītaye yat tat idam na citram). Swāmy Deśikan reminds

us that this stOtram did not arise because of his poetic skills but because of the

boon given by the Lord to engage in the creation of such a stuti to please Him.

He performs Sāthvika thyāgam here in the spirit of nyāsa daśaka slOkam:

“svadhatta svadhiyā svārtham svasmin nyasyati mām svayam”. This is the

Karthruthva thyāgam, wherein one declares that the act was done by the Lord

through him. When one disassociates oneself from the act performed and con-

siders that as the act of Bhagavān, then it is Mamathā thyāgam. When one

yields the phalanx resulting from the karma to the Lord, then it is Phala

thyāgam. All our acts should be surrendered to the Lord in the spirit of these

Sāthvika thyāgams and instructs us about this necessity of Sāthvika thyāgam

from slOkam 3 to 6 of Śrī Varadarāja Pañcāśat.

Swāmy Deśikan gives here an analogy about how his stuti pleases the Lord.

He compares himself to a parrot, which was used to jumping from one fruit

tree to the other in search of food and the Lord as the Master, who placed that

parrot in a lovely cage and taught it how to utter words and speak. Although

the parrot can speak a few words in an infantile and repetitive fashion, the

owner of the parrot (the Lord here) is pleased with the fruits of His efforts:

“mañjūni pañjara śakunta vijalpitāni śikshakān ām hr dayam āvarjayanti

khalu?” Even if the words spoken by the parrots might sound like prattle to

the others, they are very pleasing to the ear of the trainer and they fill His heart

with happiness.

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SLOKAM 7

y< c]uu;amiv;y< hymex yJva

Ôa"Iysa sucirten ddzR vexa>,

t< Tva< krIz ké[a pir[amtSte

ÉUtain hNt iniolain inzamyiNt. 7.

yam cakshushāmavishayam hayamedha yajvā

drāghīyasā sucaritena dadarśa vedhāh |

tam tvām karīśa karunā parin āmataste

bhūtāni hanta nikhilāni niśāmayanti ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of atthigiri! Once upon a time, many aeons ago, Brahma devan was

blessed with the saubhāgyam to see You directly due to his sukrutha

paramparai (accumulated bundles of good deeds). This is an unheard of thing

because it is normally impossible to see You with human or divine eyes unless

You will to present Yourself. Brahma devan performed the long and difficult

horse sacrifice (asvamedha yāgam) to gain significant pun yams to have Your

darsana saubhāgyam. Today however, the lofty and the lowly humans having

eyesight could see and enjoy Your dhivya mangal a vigraham on top of

Hasthigiri without any major effort comparable to that of Brahma devan. One

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can ask why it is easy now to enjoy Your beautiful Thirumeni by all janthus

and how that became possible. The answer is that it is the supreme compassion

at its peak made that impossible becomes possible. That indeed is the nature of

Your Karun ai!

COMMENTARY:

From this slOkam onwards, the explanation about the purport of this stuti

begins. The height of Brahma Devan’s Bhakthi for His Lord and the Lord’s

height of Kārun yam towards His upāsakan are referred to here. Our Lord is

not visible to the human eye as a Supreme Being (cakshushām avishayam).

Brahma made it possible for him and us to visualize the Lord with the physical

eyes through the Punyam arising from the steadfast performance of the

asvamedha Yāgam at Hasthigiri (yam vedhāh hayamedha yajvā drāghīyasā

sucaritena dadarśa). The Pun ya paripakkuvam of Brahma Devan led to the

Lord appearing in the Yāga Vedhi under PunyakOti Vimānam. That Lord, who

appeared in the Yajñam of Brahma Devan offers His sevai to one and all even

today. Bhagavān’s Kārun ya Pakkuvam (perfection) is the reason for us to be

blessed with His sevai even today. Instead of disappearing after pleasing

Brahmā, He stays in the arcā rūpam in all the four Yugams so that the Jīva rāsis

can have the bhāgyam of having His darsana saubhāgyam. He is Self-

manifested (svayam Vyaktan) at this dhivya desam. He decided that all should

benefit from the sevai of His dhivya mangal a vigraham and stayed therefore in

the arcā form. What a wonder exclaims Swāmy Deśikan (tam tvām karunā

parināmatah nikhilāni bhūtāni niśāmayanti, hanta!). Pleased by the bhakthi of

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Brahma Devan, the Lord promised that He will stay at this Sathya Vratha

Kshethram for worship by all Janthus (Chetanam, Gajendran, Bruhaspathi,

Ādhiśeshan and others) through all kinds of worship and grant them their

desired boons as Varadarājan (ummudaya ārādhanattāle santushtanāi, āvirbhūta

svarūpiyāi, ummudaya hithārtamāha, intha Kshetrattile sarva Prān i

sampūjitanāi, sarvābhīshta Pradhanāi , sarva-Yajña samārādhyanāi nivāsam

pan nūhiROm). The Tamizh Prabhandham of Meyviratha Mānmiyam of

Swāmy Deśikan goes into great length about the avathāram of Lord

Varadarājan at Kāñci.

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SLOKAM 8

tÄTpdEépihte=ip tur¼ mexe

z³adyae vrd pUvRmlBx Éaga>,

AXyi]te moptaE Tviy c]u;Ev

hEr{y gÉR hiv;a< rsmNvÉUvn!. 8.

tattat padairupahite=pi tura n ga medhe

śakrādayo varada pūrvam alabdha bhāgāh |

adhyakshite makhapatau tvayi cakshushaiva

hairan ya garbha havishām rasam anvabhūvan ||

MEANING:

Oh Perarulāl a Perumāl e! When Brahma devan performed his asvamedha

yāgam, he followed the ways established by the Śāstrās and offered the

portions of Havis to appropriate devathais like Indran. In all Yāga-Yajñams,

the devās receive their assigned portion of sacrificial offerings (Havis) through

Agni Bhagavān. This is Śāstram prescribed way. In the asvamedha Yajñam of

Brahma devan, the celestial beings like Indran did not get their shares. As the

Lord of all these celestials, You received directly all the havis. At the crowning

moment of that Yajñam, when Brahma devan offered the most important Havis

(mukhya Havis of Vapā), You appeared before all those assembled at

Hasthigiri and accepted in person the Mukhya Havis. All the celestials were

thrilled to enjoy Your matchless soundharyam. They consumed with their own

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eyes the beauty of Your Thirumeni as the essence of all the sacrificial

offerings. They drank with delight Your divine beauty and did not miss at all

their traditional Havis.

COMMENTARY:

In this slOkam, Swāmy Deśikan describes the agitation of the Devās, who did

not get their shares of Havis from Brahma Devan. Lord Varadarājan’s avatāra

vaibhavams are reminded here. Indran and the other Devās (śakrādayah ) were

invited by Brahma Devan to attend the asvamedha Yāgam performed by Him

at Kāñci. During the Yajñam, their names were called and the Havis due to

them were offered but they did not receive them (śakrādayah tattat padaih

upahiteapi tura n ga medhe pūrvam alabdha- bhāgāh). On the thirteenth day of

asvamedha Yāgam, the individual havis perfected for each of the Devās were

offered through their nāma ucchāran a Pūrvaka Homam. Devās waited but their

portion of the Havis did not reach them. They were agitated and complained to

Brahma devan, the Yajamānar of the Yajñam. Brahmā explained that Bhagavān

alone is the BhOktha (enjoyer) for all Havir Viseshams. He some times

receives those Havis directly and other times through His appointed

representatives. He alone is the Phala pradhan for the observed Yajñams. For

Samsāris, Devās act as receivers of the Havis and in the case of Śaran āgatās

and Prapannās, the Lord receives their Havis. Brahmā’s main upadesam was

that all karmās and their Phalans originate from Bhagavān. Devās are

Bhagavān’s body and He is their indweller. This asvamedha Yāgam is being

performed by me (Brahmā) for gaining the Sākshātkāram of the Lord and that

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phalan can not be given by anyone other than Bhagavān and that is why you

(the Devās) did not receive any Havis on Your (thirteenth) day. Next day, the

Vapā Havis (Pradhāna Havis) was offered and the Lord arose from the Agni

kuntham and became visible to all (Devās and Brahmā). Swāmy Deśikan

refers to the Lord’s appearance as “makha patau adhyakshite”. makha pati

means the chief of all Yāgams.

“hairan ya garbha havishām rasam cakshusha eva anvabhūvan” - Earlier, the

Havis offered by Brahman to Devās was received directly by the Lord Himself

as the indweller of the Devās. When Pradhāna havis was offered, the Lord

appeared in person and the assembled Devās enjoyed the Dhivya Mangala

Vigraham of the Lord and at the same time enjoyed the essence of all Havis

that they did not receive earlier through their eyes. The upadesam that they

received from Brahmā helped them in this regard.

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SLOKAM 9

sgR iSwit à¦y ivæm naiqkaya<

zElU;viÖivx ve; pir¢h< Tvam!,

s<ÉavyiNt ùdyen krIz xNya>

s<sar vairinix sNtr[Ek paetm!. 9.

sarga sthiti pral aya vibhrama nāt ikāyām

śailūshavadvividha vesha parigraham tvām |

sambhāvayanti hrdayena karīśa dhanyāh

samsāra vārinidhi santaran aika potam ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of Hasthigiri! Although You take on the roles of Brahmā and others to

perform their various assigned roles like actors in the amusing sport of

creating, protecting and destroying the Universe and its beings, the virtuous

ones understand clearly that it is Yourself who stands behind all these devās to

engage in such karmās. They understand Your role as the sole empowerer and

place their total trust in You to ferry them across the ocean of Samsāram as the

safest boat. You are the indweller of Brahmā, Śivan to perform their duties

relating to creation, protection and destruction; this is a drama that you

choreograph and execute.

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COMMENTARY:

“sarga sthiti pral aya vibhrama nāt ikāyām śailūshavat vividha vesha parigraham

tvām” - Lord Varadarājan is the Ādikāran a vasthu. It is however said that

Brahmā is responsible for creation, Vishnu for protection and Śivan for

destruction. Those who worship Lord Varadarājan and are clear about their

tattva Jñānam know that Vishn u, the akāra Vācyan remains the indweller of

Brahmā and Śiva and performs the acts of creation and destruction. Lord

Varadhan is like an actor on a stage with many veshams. There is a difference

however between an ordinary actor and Bhagavān as the actor. The ordinary

actor can take only one role at any one time. Bhagavān however can take many

roles at the same time (Pasu, Pakshi, humans etc). He takes these many roles to

fulfill His sankalpams. The many roles played by the Lord directly and

indirectly as the antaryāmi of Mukhya Devathās like Brahmā and Śivan are

referred to in this slOkam. The rangam (stage) on which He plays these roles is

His līlā Vibhūti. Here, He takes on the various roles like an actor (vividha

vesha śailūshavat).

tvām samsāra vārinidhi santaran a eka potam dhanyāh hrdayena sambhāvayanti

-You are the matchless and the safest boat to cross the dangerous ocean of

Samsāram. This tatthvam is understood by the Bhāgyasālis and they continue

to meditate on You dwelling in their heart lotuses as their sole Rakshakan.

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SLOKAM 10

àaÝaedye;u vrd Tvdnuàvezat!

pÒasnaid;u izvaid;u kÂuke;u,

tNmaÇ dzRn ivlaeiÉt zemu;Ika>

tadaTMy mUF mtyae inptNTyxIra>. 10.

prāptodayeshu varada tvadanupraveśāt

padmāsanādishu śivādishu kañcukeshu |

tanmātra darāśana vilobhita śemushīkāh

tādātmya mūd ha matayo nipantantyadhīrāh ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of atthigiri! You enter into Brahmā, Śivan and others as their

indweller through anupravesam. They become thus enabled to do their

assigned duties. They are like the shirts worn by You, while You perform their

duties. There are many, who do not understand this subtlety and are deluded to

think that it is Brahamā, Śivan doing their duties on their own and revere them.

They fail to comprehend that You as the Supreme Being is performing all these

duties in their forms and consider You as one of the trinity. Deluded by their

ignorance, these souls wallow in the sea of samsāram.

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COMMENTARY:

adhīrāh padmāsana ādishu śiva ādishu kañcukeshu tanmātra darāśana vilobhita

śemushīkāh mūdha matayah nipantanti Varadha! - Those without true Jñānam

do not recognize that You are present inside Brahmā and Śivā as the indweller

commanding them in their assigned duties. They mistake Brahmā and Śivā as

independent purushās and independent from You. They get deluded and forget

to recognize that Brahmā and Śivā are like the shirts (uniforms of an official)

and pay respect to those uniforms instead of the true empowerer inside them.

Paramaikānthis however know that Brahmā and Śiva are Karmavasyāl s and

have powers conferred by You to grant alpa phalans. They can never give the

boon of Moksham, which You alone can give. Those who are totally devoted

to You and do not expect any Phalans for their worship of You declare like

Kulasekhara Āzhwār: “ninnaye thānn ven di niRpan adiyene”. In Bhagavath

Geethai (7.16), Bhagavān points out in this context that three classes of people

(Ārthan, Jijñāsu and Ārthārthī) worship Him for alpa phalans and it is only the

Jñāni, who seeks only Moksham as the preferred Purushārtham. Those who

think that Brahmā, Śivan and Yourself are equal to one another end up being

tossed about in the ocean of Samsāram.

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SLOKAM 11

mXye iviri izvyaeivRihtavtar>

Oyatae=is tTsmtya tidd< n icÇm!,

maya vzen mkraid zrIir[< Tva<

tanev pZyit krIz yde; laek>. 11.

madhye viriñci śivayor vihitāvatārah

khyāto=si tatsamatayā tadidam na citram |

māyā vaśena makarādi śarīrinam tvām

tāneva paśyati karīśa yadesha lokah ||

MEANING:

Oh Devarāja! You create the Universe and its beings as the indweller of

Brahmā. As the antaryāmi of Śivā, You destroy the universe at pral aya kālam.

In between them, You stand as Vishnu and protect the world. Common folks

do not comprehend this truth. They look at You as one of the Trinity and

consider You as equal to Brahmā and Śivā. There is no surprise here. With

Your wondrous sankalpam, You incarnated as Fish, Tortoise, Boar et al. The

ignorant people think that You are indeed the Fish, Tortoise and Boar during

the dasāvatārams. The foolishness of the common folk is indeed stupendous,

which makes them consider You as an equal to Brahmā, Śivan and the like.

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COMMENTARY:

This slOkam focuses on the two items: Bhagavān’s Sousīlyam and the pitiable

state of a chetanam, which does not understand the true nature of the Lord as

the Supreme Being. Our Lord has taken the avathāram as Vishnu in between

Brahmā and Śivā. Those who are not knowledgeable treat Him (Vishnu)

therefore as an equal to Brahmā and Śivan. They do not recognize His

Sarveśvarathvam and misunderstand His avathāra Kāran am. His unique gun

ams such as Soulabhyam, Sousīlyam are misinterpreted by the unfortunate

chetanam. These common folks consider Your avathārams as fish, Varāham

and literally equate You to a fish and a Varāham. It is not surprising therefore

for such people to think that You are equal in stature and Vaibhavam to

Brahmā and Śivan, who have been assigned their positions by You. Further

You are the indweller of them and actuate them. They are Your servants and

have finite life time even if that may be long by human standards.

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SLOKAM 12

äüeit z»r #tINÔ #it Svraifit

AaTmeit svRimit svR cracraTmn!,

hStIz svR vcsamvsan sIma<

Tva< svRkar[muzNTynpay vac>. 12.

brahmeti śan kara itīndra iti svarād iti

ātmeti sarvamiti sarva carācarātman |

hastīśa sarva vacasāmavasāna sīmām

tvām sarva kāran amuśanti anapāya vācah ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of the Elephant Hill! All words such as Brahmā, Śivan, Indran,

Āthmā, Sarvam all point to You ultimately as the antharyāmi Brahmam

(indwelling Supreme Being inside all of the above). Therefore You shine as the

ultimate cause (Sarva Kāran an). You are the ultimate boundary (yellai nilam)

of all the words. Therefore, the Vedās proclaim You as the Paramātmā and

Sarvāntharyāmi of all chetanams and achetanams.

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COMMENTARY:

Bhagavān Varadarājan’s Sarvantharyāmithvam, Sarva Kāran athvam and Sarva

Sabdha Vācyathvam are saluted in this slOkam.

anapāya vācah - Vedās are eternal. Our Lord taught them to Brahmā and

when they were stolen from Brahamā, He restored them so that Brahmā can

continue with his duties of creation. We have to understand the significance of

Veda Mantrams with the help of the interpretations by Rishis, Āzhwārs and

Ācāryās.

This slOkam covers three important instructions of the Vedās about the Lord

as the Supreme Being (Para Devathai):

(1) Indwellership in all chEtanams and achEtanams,

(2) Being the root cause of all and

(3) Being the end of all vāk.

Sarvāntaryāmitvam: He is the Āthmā for all the sentient and the insentient.

They serve as His body and this doctrine is proved by Jīva-īswara tatthva

nirūpanams. That He is present inside the insentient is proven by His

nrusimhāvatāram, where He made the utterance of Prahlādhan true by jumping

out of the insentient pillar (nrusimha Garbham).

Sarva kāran atvam: Jagath-Janmādhi kāran atvam is Bhagavān’s lakshanam

(distinct mark).Upanishads, Brahma Sūthrams and Śrī Bhāshyam prove that

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none other than Śriman narāyan an is the cause for all beings without any

doubt.

Sarva Sabdha vācyatvam: All the word in the ultimate analysis point only to

Śriman narāyan an. All the words like Brahman, Śivan, Indran, Svarāt (One

who is not under the control of KarmAs), āthmā et al point out at the end only

to Śriman narāyan an. He pervades them all. He commands them all and is

present in them all. Swāmy Deśikan observes elsewhere (Śrī Vegā Setu

StOtram) in this context: “yatra sārasvatam sroto viśrāmyati viśru n kha-

lam” (He is the Setu/ dam at which the flow of all speech comes to a halt). He

is the ultimate limit and destination of all nāma Rūpa Prapancham.

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SLOKAM 13

Aazaixpe;u igirze;u ctumuRoe:vip

AVyahta ivix in;ex myI tva}a,

hStIz inTymnupaln l'œ"na_ya<

pu<sa< zuÉazuÉ myain )lain sUte. 13.

āśādhipeshu giriśeshu caturmukheshvapi

avyāhatā vidhi nishedha mayī tavājñā |

hastīśa nityamanupālana lan ghanābhyām

pumsām śubhāśubha mayāni phalāni sūte ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of Hasthigiri! “Do this, don’t do this” and similar commands of Yours

are applicable to Brahmā, Śivan, and other Lord of directions and Rishis.

Those demi-gods and noble souls, who obey Your injunctions and commands,

gain auspicious fruits. Those who disobey Your directives are consumed by

inauspiciousness and perish. The human beings have to understand Your com-

mands through the Śāstrās and obey them and receive Your anugraham.

Transgression of Your commands lands them in narakam and samsāric turmoil.

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COMMENTARY:

Oh Lord Varadarāja! All the Lords of the directions (Indran, Yaman et al), the

eleven RudhrAs, Caturmuka Brahmā and all devās obey Your commands on

dos and don’ts (vidhi nishedham). They obey them implicitly and do not trans-

gress them to please You. These commands are applicable to humans as well.

If they follow them, they receive auspicious phalans and when they transgress

them, they acquire inauspiciousness (vidhi nishedha mayī tava ājñā nityam an-

upālana lan ghanābhyām pumsām śubha aśubha mayāni phalāni sūte).

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SLOKAM 14

Çata==pid iSwit pd< Ér[< àraeh>

Daya krIz srsain )lain c Tvm!,

zaoagt iÇdz b&Nd zk…Ntkana<

ik< nam nais mhta< ingm Ô‚ma[am!. 14.

trātā āpadi sthiti padam bharan am prarohah

chāyā karīśa sarasāni phalāni ca tvam |

śākhāgata tridaśa br nda śakuntakānām

kim nāma nāsi mahatām nigama drumān ām ||

MEANING:

Oh Karigiri nātha! You are āpat bhāndhavan, anātha Rakshakan, ādhāram,

stabilizer for the countless Devathās living as birds on the innumerable

branches (Śākhās) of the Tree in the form of the VedAs. You are also the tender

shoots, shade and delectable fruits associated with that Tree. What else can we

hope for? You are everything.

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COMMENTARY:

Veda Parayanam inside the Kaanchi Temple

This slOkam celebrates the Lord being everything for the Tree of the Vedās

(protector at times of danger to it, nourishing principle, seed, shade and

delectable fruit grown by it). Vedās are limitless and can be compared to a

gigantic tree. The Veda Bhāgams like Taittirīyam, Vājasaneyam, Jaiminīyam et

al are like the different branches of that tree. In those Veda Bhāgams, the

assembly of the devās, who bless one with some phalans are the assembly of

birds having their homes on those branches. This gigantic Vedic tree might

occasionally be exposed to danger by the cyclone of asurās. You protect the

Vedic tree at those times of danger. Since all Vedās salute You as

Jagadhādhāran, You become the root of that Vedic tree. You protect the purity

of the Vedās by making the svarās in tact through Ācāryās and Sishyās

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belonging to the Veda Paramparai. Like the aerial roots holding the giant pupil

tree, You protect the vedic tree with Your prowess. Through Smruthi and Purān

ams, You protect the Vedās and their true meaning. You protect the jīvans from

samsāric tāpams through the comforting shade provided by taking the form of

the Vedic tree. For those, who follow Your commands and perform Prapatthi

unto You, You become the most delectable fruit of that Vedic tree nourished

and protected by You. In Your mysterious ways, You manifest in all aspects of

the Vedic tree.

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SLOKAM 15

samaNy buiÏ jnkaí sdaidzBda>

tÅvaNtr æm k«tí izvaid vac>,

naray[e Tviy krIz vhNTynNym!

ANvwR v&iÄ pirkiLptmEk k{Q(m!. 15.

sāmānya buddhi janakāśca sadādi śabdāh

tattvāntara bhrama kr taśca śivādi vācah |

nārāyan e tvayi karīśa vahanti ananyam

anvartha vr tti parikalpitam aikakan thyam ||

MEANING:

Oh Hasthigirīsā! Upanishads describe the Jagat Kāran a vastu as “Sath”,

“Brahman” “Ātmāa”. These are general names and thus might give room to

include other vasthus. There are also particular names like Śivan, Hiran ya

Garbhan, Indran et al. They might also create the impression that there is room

for some one else to be the Supreme Being (Para Devathai). When we examine

the Upanishad vākyams carefully, it becomes clear these general and particular

names refer only to you as Supreme Being as one examines the meanings of

these words. For instance, Śivam means Yourself (Śriman nārāyan an), who

confers Mangal atvam on all Mangala Vasthu. Indran means one who has the

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highest aiswaryam. That again comes back to You as ubhaya Vibhūti nāthan.

The word Brahman” stands for You as the One who is superior to every one

else in Svarūpam and Gun am. “Sath”- One that exists by itself without any

help from others. nārāyan ānuvākam clearly establishes that all of these general

and special names are indeed referring to You. There is no difference among

all Upanishads in this matter.

COMMENTARY:

Veda Parayana Ghosti of Sri Varadharajan

This slOkam states that Lord Varadarājan (Śriman nārāyan an in the arcā form)

is the Supreme God proclaimed by the Vedās. The previous slOkam states that

the Lord is every thing for the Vedic tree. In this slOkam, Swāmy Deśikan

reminds us that the Veda Pratipādhyan (the One celebrated by Vedams) is

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Śriman nārāyan an alone and all the Vedams loudly proclaim this truth in one

voice (aikakan thyam).

The Vedās have Pūrva and uttara Bhāgams. Pūrva Bhāgam (Karma Kān dam)

describes and prescribes many karmās and the Devathās to be worshipped by

those Karmās. The uttara Kān d am (Deva Kān dam or Upanishads) avers that

Śriman nārāyan an is the antaryāmi of all the devathās identified by the Karma

Kān dam and He is the one and only upāsya devathai for anyone seeking

Moksham. The uttara bhāgam points out that the Bhakthi and Prapatthi

yOgams are the two routes to gain Moksha Siddhi. The link between the Pūrva

and the uttara bhāgams of the Vedams is the link between the ārādhaka and

ārādhya rūpa sambhandham. Our Lord is the Jagat Kāran an and no one else

has this defining mark (lakshan am). He is the Sarva Sabdha Vācyan

sanctifying the Vedās as Sarva loka Śaran yan.

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SLOKAM 16

siÂNtyNTyiol hey ivp] ÉUt<

zaNtaeidt< zmvta ùdyen xNya>,

inTy< pr< vrd svRgt< susUúm<

in:pNd nNdwu my< Évt> Svêpm!. 16.

sañcintayanti akhila heya vipaksha bhūtam

śāntoditam śamavatā hr dayena dhanyāh |

nityam param varada sarvagatam susūkshmam

nishpanda nandathu mayam bhavatah svarūpam ||

MEANING:

Oh Varadarājā! The fortunate ones with their tranquil minds meditate on Your

dhivyāthma Svarūpam as akhila heya pratyanīkan (One free from any

inauspicious gunams and hence blemishless), ŚāntOdikan (One who has the

sankalpam to administer Your leelā Vibhūti), nityan (eternal), Sarvagatan

(pervading everywhere), Sarva Sūkshman (subtlest of the subtle to be

antaryāmi in all vasthus), nishpanda nandathu-mayan (One with unchanged

bliss principle). Your dhivyāthma svarūpam has such immense glories to

meditate upon.

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COMMENTARY:

Atthigiri Varadhar: Praacheena Murthy

Lord Varadarājan’s dhivyātma Svarūpam is saluted here. Until now, the Lord’s

Paradevatā pāramārthya tatthvams were celebrated. From the coverage of

dhivyātma Svarūpam in this slOkam, the next five slOkams salute the dhivya

Mangal a vigraham in its five states as described by the Pāñcarātra Śāstrams.

The sixteenth slOkam enlists the seven aspects of The Lord’s dhivyāthma

svarūpam. Īswaran’s svarūpam is accepted by us as being always with His

divine consort as Saguna Brahmam and free from any inauspicious gun ams

(heya rahitan) as well as with limitless aiswaryam.

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Īswaran’s Jñānandha svarūpam is denoted by the word “dhivyāthma

svarūpam”. This svarūpam is housed and explained through the first aksharam

of the Moola Mantram, nārāyan a nāmam, “Śriman” sabdham of dhvayam and

the “mām” as well as “ekam” sabdhams of Carama slOkam. These words

explain the dhivyāthma svarūpam proven with svarūpa nirūpaka dharmams

such as His Sarvādharatvam, Satyatvam, Jñānatvam, anantatvam, amalatvam

and Ānandhatvam. In their Tamizh vedams, our Āzhwārs have referred to the

dhivyāthma Svarūpam with the salutations: “nandhāa Vil akkE”, “al

atthaRkkariyāi”, “un ar muzhu nalam”, “SūzhnthaniR periya sudar Jñāna

inbham”, amalan and other choice words.

The seven states of dhivyāthma svarūpam are:

akhila heya vipaksha bhūtam -This is one of the ubhaya lingams (markers) of

Bhagavān. He is the opposite of any inauspicious gunams. The other ubhaya

lingam is Kalyān a gunākaratvam (possessor of limitless auspicious attributes).

nityam - That which is eternal, without origin or end.

Param - Superior to every thing.

Sarvagatam -All pervasive and which is attainable by all.

Susūkshmam - Subtlest of the subtle and is capable of entering into any thing

without obstruction.

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nishpanda nandathu mayam - Embodiment of bliss principle, which is never

ever diminished.

Śānta uditam – nityOditam and Śāntoditam are the two states of Bhagavān,

which have a range of meanings (Lord enjoying Himself with ubhaya lingams

and aiswaryams). Other than the general definition that covers both the states,

nityoditam and ŚāntOditam have specific meanings: The Lord’s state as

Paravāsudevan in Śrī Vaikun tham is considered His nityoditam state and

ŚāntOditam is the state of Vyūha Vāsudevan out of whom sprung the Vyūha

mūrtis (Samkarshan a, Pradhyumna and aniruddha mūrtis). Another

explanation is: nityoditam is the state, where the Lord enjoys both His

vibhūthis and ŚāntOditam is the one, where He just enjoys His svarūpam

without the two Vibhūthis. Yet another explanation is: nityoditam is the

Bhagavath sankalpam to administer the nitya Vibhūthi and ŚāntOditam is the

sankalpam to rule over the līlā Vibhūthi.

Swāmy Deśikan concludes: “bhavatah svarūpam śāntoditam sañcintayanti”.

Mahā Bhāgyasālis meditate on the seven aspects of Your dhivyāthma

Svarūpam in their tranquil hearts.

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SLOKAM 17

ivñaitzaiy suoêp ydaTmkSTv<

Vyi´< krIz kwyiNt tdaiTmka< te,

yenaixraehit mitSTvÊpaskana<

sa ik< Tvmev tv veit ivtkR fae¦am!. 17.

viśvātiśāyi sukharūpa yadātmakastvam

vyaktim karīśa kathayanti tadātmikām te |

yenādhirohati matih tvat upāsakānām

sā kim tvameva tava veti vitarka dolām ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of Matchless Bliss Principle (Ānanda Svarūpan)! Karīsā! Vedās point

out that Your (dhivyāthma) svarūpam is as glorious as Your ThirumEni (dhivya

Mangal a Vigraham); therefore, even those Yogis, who are close to You are

driven some times by doubts about Your ThirumEni and Svarūpam are one and

the same or different. Finally, they conclude that they are different and not the

same.

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COMMENTARY:

Here, the arcāvatāram (dhivya Mangal a Vigraham) of Lord Varadharājan is

eulogized.

viśvātiśāyi sukha rūpa - Oh Lord who is the supreme most bliss principle! Oh

Supreme Ānanda rūpā!

te vyaktim tvām yat āthmakah tat ātmikām kathayanti - This is exact Veda

Vākyam. Vedam points out that the unique and bewitching aspects of

dhivyāthma svarūpam are reflected in His dhivya ThirumEni. At that time of

immense enjoyment by the yogi, he has the doubts about His dhivyāthma

svarūpam being different from His dhivya Mangal a vigraham. On deeper

reflection, they come to the conclusion that these are two different svarūpams.

The Āzhwārs in general and Thirumangai in particular leaned towards the

dhivya Mangal a vigraham of the Lord for his enjoyment.

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SLOKAM 18

maehaNxkar ivinvtRn jagêke

dae;a idva=ip inrv¢hmexmane

TvÄejis iÖrd zElpte ivm&òe

ða¸yet sNtms pvR shö Éanae>. 18.

mohāndhakāra vinivartana jāgarūke

doshā divā api niravagraha medhamāne

tvattejasi dvirada śailapate vimr shte

ślāghyeta santamasa parva sahasra bhānoh ||

MEANING:

Oh Perarul ālā! Your tejas is far superior to that of Sūryan since Your radiance

chases away the darkness of the Chetanam’s ajñānam. Sūryan can not do that

and can only operate in day time. Your tejas exists both day and night and can

not be stopped by any obstacle like clouds in the case of Sūryan. When we

compare Your radiance with that of the Sun, it becomes clear that the Sun’s

radiance is insignificant and can almost be described as darkness. Those who

have experienced Your Jyoti will not think too much about the radiance of the

Sun even at its height (Krishn a Paksha amāvāsyai).

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COMMENTARY:

The ever growing tejas of Lord Varadhan is being saluted and recognized as

being far superior to that of the thousand rayed Sun. Swāmy Nammāzhwār

salutes the superior Jyoti as “Āti amm Soti”. The Sun becomes equal to dark-

ness before the incandescent Jyoti of the Lord as He emerged from the Agni

Kun tham on top of Hasthigiri. Sun’s brightness was like a lamp shining in the

bright day (pahalOn pahal vilakkāha āyinān). Lord’s tejas can remove the inner

darkness of ajñānam day and night, while the Sun’s luster can only remove the

external darkness.

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SLOKAM 19

êFSy icNmytya ùdye krIz

StMbanukair pir[am ivze; Éaj>,

Swane;u ja¢it ctu:vRip sÅvvNt>

zaoa ivÉag cture tv caturaTMye. 19.

rūdhasya cinmayatayā hr daye karīśa

stambānukāri parin āma viśesha bhājah |

sthāneshu jāgrati caturshvapi sattvantah

śākhā vibhāga cature tava cāturātmye ||

MEANING:

Oh Kālamegham of Karigiri Śikharam! The Yogis who have mastered the

dhyāna yogam enjoy Your four vyūhams, which spread out in four directions

as four branches of the Viśāka yūpam (Viśākā pillar). My Lord! You alone are

present as the four branches. In the East is Vāsudeva Mūrti, in the South is the

Sankarshan a Mūrti, in the West is the Pradhyumna Mūrti and in the North is

the aniruddha Mūrti. These doctrines have been explained in detail by

Pāncarātra āgama texts. The competent Yogis filled with Sattva Gun am

visualize these four Mūrtis as the four branches in the Viśāka yūpam present in

their hearts through the four levels of dhyānam (Jāgrat-Svapnam- Sushupti or

adhyalasam and turīyam).

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COMMENTARY:

Lord Varadarājan’s vyūha avatārams are covered in this slOkam. Varadha! The

Mahāns known for their sattva gunam invoke You in their heart lotuses as one

of the four Vyūha Mūrtis. The appearances of these Vyūha Mūrtis and the way

to meditate on them are covered in this slOkam.

In Śrī Vaikuntham, there is a pillar known as Viśāka Sthambham. It is an

embodiment of Jñānam. Para Vāsudevan is present in this pillar in the form of

four Mūrtis appropriate for the dhyānam of the individual yogis. There are four

branches that grow out of this pillar. In each of these four branches is a specific

dhivya mangal a vyūha Mūrti. In the East is Vyūha Vāsudevan, Sankarshan an

in the South, Pradhyumnan in the West and aniruddhan is in the North. In the

Vyūha Vāsudeva form, the Lord has all the six gunams of Para Vāsudevan

(Jñāna, bala, aiswarya, Vīrya, śakti and tejas). Sankarshan a Mūrti has Jñānam

and balam. Pradhyumnan has aiswaryam and Vīryam. aniruddhan has śakti

and tejas. The separation of the gun ams by pairs is for the comfort of the

upāsakan. Sankarshan ar engages in Samhāram (destruction of the world) and

performs śāstra pravacanam. Pradhyumnan creates the world and its beings

and instructs us on tattvams. aniruddhar protects the world and its beings.

Vyūha Vāsudevar becomes the origin for the other three vyūhams. Each of the

Vyūha Mūrtis generates three upa-vyūha Mūrtis to lead to a total of twelve

upa-vyūha Mūrtis. Out of Vyūha Vāsudevan originate Keśavan, nārāyan an and

Mādhavan. Govindan, Vishnu and Madhusūdhanan arise from Sankarshan an.

Thrivikraman, Vāmanan and Śridharan incarnate from Pradhyumnan.

aniruddhan incarnates as Hrshīkeśan, Padmanābhan and dhāmodharan. Swāmy

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Deśikan has blessed us with a Śrī Sūkti named Panniru nāmam to describe

their hue, weapons, directions and Pundra sthānams.

The ways to perform upāsanA on the four Vyūha Mūrtis: They have to be

worshipped in the Jāgrat (awakened) state, dream state, sushupti (dreamless

state of deep slumber) and in Mūrcchā state. In the Jāgrat state, the activities,

weapons, Vāhanams and chinnams of the four Mūrtis will be clearly seen. In

the final state of Mūrcchā, the Vyūha Mūrtis will just appear as four branches

without the manifestation of any details. In the Svapna and sushupti states, the

details of the anubhavam will be somewhere in between the first and the fourth

states in clarity.

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SLOKAM 20

nagaclez iniolaepin;NmnI;a-

mÃUi;ka mrkt< piricNvta< Tvam!,

tNvI ùid S)…rit ka=ip izoa munIna<

saEdamnIv inÉ&ta nv me" gÉaR. 20.

nāgācaleśa nikhilopanishan manīshā-

mañjūshikā marakatam paricinvatām tvām |

tanvī hrdi sphurati kā=pi śikhā munīnām

saudāmanīva nibhrtā nava megha garbhā ||

MEANING:

Oh atthi Giri Lord! Just as a jewel box is housing a green gem (Maragatham),

You are present inside the meanings of all Upanishads as the Maragatha Man i

Van n an. In the heart lotuses of the Sages, who meditate on You, there is a

small flame that remains stationary. You are seated on the middle of that flame

just like a still lightning amidst the new cloud. Thus meditate the Yogis about

You as at the center of a small agni jwālai in their heart lotuses.

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COMMENTARY:

antaryāmi rūpam of Lord Varadan: This and the next slokam dwell on the

antaryāmi Brahma rūpam of the Lord, where the Lord stays in a subtle state

inside the heart lotus of the Jīvan. Swāmy Nammāzhwār describes the Lord

within him as: “KondDal van n an, sudar mudiyan nānku tholan, kuni Sārngan,

onn Sankathai Vāl Azhiyān oruvan adiyEn ullāne. The various Upanishadic

passages explain the exact location of the indweller and his appearance

precisely. He is present at all times with His auspicious attributes halfway

between the neck bone and the belly button, where the heart lotus is looking

like an inverted lotus flower. At the tip of the heart lotus is a small space,

where the Lord resides amidst the flames of the digestive fire, which nourishes

the seven dhāthus. Bhagavān is present there as a narrow flame of fire giving

the appearance of a streak of lightning (tanvī hrdi sphurati kā-api śikhā

munīnām saudāmanīva nibhrtā nava megha garbhā). The Yogis meditate on

Him as the ever present lightning streak in the heart lotus of absolute purity

and as a jñānānanda Svarūpan (sva itara vastu vilakshana ananta jñāna ānanda

eka svarūpan).

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SLOKAM 21

AaEdNvte mhit sÒin Éasmane

ða¸ye c idVy sdne tms> priSmn! ,

ANt>k¦ebrimd< sui;r< susUúm<

jat< krIz kwmadr[aSpd< te. 21.

audanvate mahati sadmani bhāsamāne

ślāghye ca divya sadane tamasah parasmin |

antah kalebaram idam sushiram susūkshmam

jātam karīśa kathamādaran a āspadam te ||

MEANING:

Your nithya Vāsasthalams are the aprākrutha Sri Vaikun tha lokam and the

Milky Ocean. Oh Varadharājā! While You have the claim to such expansive

and beautiful eternal places of residence how did it happen that the tiny cave

inside the heart cavity of our impure body became a place of residence for

You? Leaving the dhivyālankrutha Śrī Vaikun tham with its bejeweled Man

tapam and the place, where Śrī Devi was born, You chose the tiny abode inside

the human heart cavity as Your place of your preferred residence. This choice

could only be due to Your vāthsalyam for the chetanams.

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COMMENTARY:

In the previous slOkam, Bhagavān’s presence as antharyāmi in the small space

inside the heart lotus was saluted (sushiram susūkshmam). Swāmy Deśikan

asks Lord Varadarājan a question now with wonderment: Oh My Lord! You

have plenty of expansive and beautiful places to choose from such as the vast

space of Milky Ocean, the divine Sri Vaikuntham full of bhogya vasthus and

yet You preferred to reside with joy in the small space inside the chetanam’s

heart lotus. Your choice of not so beautiful, cramped space in human heart can

only be due to Your Vāthsalyam for the Jīvan and to be near it at all times.

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SLOKAM 22

balak«tevRqplazimtSy ySy

äüa{f m{flmÉUÊdrEkdeze,

tSyEv tdœ vrd hNt kw< àÉUt<

varahmaiSwtvtae vpurтt< te. 22.

bālākr ter vata palāśa mitasya yasya

brahmān da man dalam abhūdudaraika deśe |

tasyaiva tad varada hanta katham prabhūtam

vārāhamāsthitavato vapuradbhutam te ||

MEANING:

Oh Varadarāja! When You laid down on a pupil leaf as a small baby during

Pral ayam, You held the entire Brahmān dam in a tiny portion of Your stomach

and protected the beings of the Universe. That is indeed an adhbhutham! When

You incarnated as a Kola Varāham, the gigantic Brahmān d ams were held as a

tiny tuber on Your tusker (korai tooth). It is amazing to reflect on how those

stupendous Brahmān dams lay like a small entity in side your stomach, when

You laid down and floated on the Pupil leaf as the Vad apatra Śāyī.

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COMMENTARY:

A series of slOkams on the Vibhava avathārams commence now. Swāmy

Deśikan enjoys the Lord first as the Varāha avathāran.

Varada! bāla akr teh vat a palāśa mitasya yasya udara deśe brahmān da man d

alam abhūt – Oh Varada Prabho! There was a time, when You rescued this

gigantic earth by swallowing it and keeping it in a small region of Your

stomach as You floated down in the swirling waters of the deluge. In contrast

to that small form holding the Brahmān d am in your tiny stomach, during the

Varāha avathāram, You lifted Bhūmi from below the ocean and held Her on

Your incisor tooth like a small tuber and arose out of the ocean waters. The

hugely expansive Brahmān dam surrounded You then including the ocean

which just came about to the height of a cow’s hoof. It is indeed a wonder to

think about the different roles of Brahmān d am and how they related to You in

these two avathārams tasya eva te adbhutam vārāham vapuh āsthitavatah tat

katham prabhūtam hanta!

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SLOKAM 23

É´Sy danv izzae> pirpalnay

ÉÔa< n&is<h k…hnamixjGmu;Ste,

StMÉEk vjRmxuna=ip krIz nUn<

ÇElaeKymetdiol< nris<h gÉRm!, 23.

bhaktasya dānava śiśoh paripālanāya

bhadrām nr simha kuhanām adhijagmushah te |

stambhaika varjamadhunā api karīśa nūnam

trailokyam etat akhilam narasimha garbham||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of atthigiri! You jumped unexpectedly out of a pillar in the rāja sabhā

of Hiran yan to save the Bāla Bhāgavathan, Prahlādhan from the rage of the

Bhagavath dhveshi, Hirnayan. Since You left that pillar and exited, it appears

that all vasthus except that pillar are serving now as abodes for You (etat

trailokyam akhilam sthambha varjitam adhunā api nūnam narasimha

garbham).

COMMENTARY:

Lord Varadarājan is saluted here by Swāmy Deśikan as nrusimha avathāran in

this slOkam. Swāmy Deśikan’s poetic imagination comes up with the gem of

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an idea of the Lord being present in all chetanāchetanams as antharyāmi

Brahmam after His nr simhāvathāram.

In the first line of this slOkam, Swāmy Deśi-

kan instructs us about the reason for this

avathāram (viz.) for the protection of the

asuran Hiran yakasipu’s child, Bhaktha

Prahlādhan (bhaktasya dānava śiśoh

paripālanāya). How did He accomplish this?

He took the form of a beautiful nara Simham

and jumped out of the pillar in the court of

Hiran yakasipu (bhadrām nr simha kuhanām

adhijagmushah te). After this avathāram, all

objects in the three worlds except that special

pillar contain even today the dhivya Mangala

vigraham of nrusimhan (etat trailokyam akhilam stambha eka varjam adhunā

api narasimha garbham).Oh Varadharāja! Thou who incarnated as Narasimhan

is ready even today with Your divine sankalpam to come to the rescue of the

enemies of Your bhakthās. This is for sure!

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SLOKAM 24

³amn! jgt! kpq vamntamupet>

Çexa krIz s Évan! indxe pdain,

A*aip jNtv #me ivmlen ySy

padaedken ivx&ten izva ÉviNt. 24.

krāman jagat kapata vāmanatām upetah

tredhā karīśa sa bhavān nidadhe padāni |

adyāpi jantava ime vimalena yasya

pādodakena vidhrtena śivā bhavanti ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of atthigiri! Once upon a time, You incarnated as a dwarf, grew later

as gigantic Thrivikraman and took possession of the worlds with three of Your

steps. During that occasion, Brahma Devan used His Kaman dalu Jalam to

perform Thirumanjanam for Your sacred feet and those waters descended

down as the river Gangā. All those who received that sacred Śrīpāda theertham

became Śivāh /auspicious (śivā bhavanti).

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COMMENTARY:

Thrivikramāvathāram is taken up in this slOkam. “You took on the role of

Kapat a Vāmanan to take back the aiswaryam grabbed by Mahā Bali from

Indran. Thou who art the owner of every thing in this universe went to the

Yāga Sālai of Mahā Bali to beg for three feet of Land). Mahā Bali ceded the

gift and then You grew into a gigantic form to measure this earth and the sky

and all that was in between with just two measures of Your sacred feet (jagat

krāmān padāni tredhā nidadhe). You

grew and grew and when Your foot

reached the abode of Brahmā, he

performed Thirumanjanam for your

sacred feet and those Thirumanjanam

waters came down from the sky and fell

on every janthu’s head. The waters

with Your Thiuvadi sambhandham

consecrated the janthus and made

them very auspicious (vidhr tena

vimalena yasya pādodakena ime janta-

vah adya api śivā bhavanti). That

Gangā water generated from the viseha

Thirumanjanam purifies all, when they sprinkle it on their heads due to

the sacred connection with the feet of the Lord. That is the power of His

Śrīpāda theertham!

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SLOKAM 25

yenacl àk«itna irpu s<]yawIR

vara< inix< vrd pUvRml'œ"ySTvm!,

t< vIúy setumxuna=ip zrIrvNt>

sveR ;fUimR bhu¦< jlix< triNt. 25.

yenācala prakr tinā ripu samkshyārthī

vārām nidhim varada pūrvam alan ghayastvam |

tam vīkshya setum adhunā api śarīravantah

sarve shad ūrmi bahulam jaladhim taranti ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord Varadhā! On an ancient day, You built a dam (Rāma sethu) across the

Ocean, traveled over it to Lankā, engaged Rāvan an in battle and cut off all His

ten heads with one powerful arrow. Anyone, who is blessed to see Your Sethu

are able to cross effortlessly the dangerous samsāric Ocean known for six

different waves (hunger, thirst, mental anguish, desire, aging and death) that

cause immense sorrow. They also win over the mind with its ten heads similar

to those of Rāvan an.

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COMMENTARY:

The glories of the Rāmāvathāram are saluted now.

ripu samkshyārthī - Your sankalpam was to banish the enmity of Your sworn

enemy. You knew that the death of Rāvan an alone will remove the cruelties

caused by him. You wanted to reach Lankā surrounded by the ocean and You

had a dam built with the help of the army of monkeys and bears to cross the

ocean (acala prakrtinā ena pūrvam vārām nidhim alan ghayah). Looking at that

sethu even today, the embodied ones cross the ocean of samsāram with its six

kinds of terrifying waves (tam setum vīkshya, adhunā api, sarīravantah

shad ūrmi bahulam jaladhim taranti). In the days of Lord Rāmachandran, the

dam was useful to cross the waters of the ocean and reach Lankā to complete

the avathāra Kāryam but today the darsanam of the same dam helps to cross

the ocean of Samsāram and reach the other shore of Śrī Vaikun tham.

Satellite image of the Rama Sethu — Bridge built by Sri Rama to reach Lanka

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SLOKAM 26

#Tw< krIz Êrpûv idVy ÉVy-

êpaiNvtSy ivbuxaid ivÉUit saMyat!

keiciÖivicÇ cirtan! Évtae=vtaran!

sTyan! dya prvzSy ivdiNt sNt>. 26.

ittham karīśa durapahnava divya bhavya-

rūpānvitasya vibudhādi vibhūti sāmyāt |

kecit vicitra caritān bhavatah avatārān

satyān dayā paravaśasya vidanti santah ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord standing on top of Kari Giri! You have an irrefutable Suddha Satthva

(aprākrutha) dhivya Mangala Vigraham that is unique to You and yet You

incarnate in many rūpams amidst the devās and humans and mingle with them

out of Your compassion and Vāthsalyam for them. The learned ones point out

that those avathārams are real and not like some magic. Your sarīram during

those avathārams are made up of Suddha Satthvam alone (Suddha Satthva

ThirumEni).

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COMMENTARY:

This slOkam points out that the Sādhus save themselves through the clear

comprehension of the Bhagavath avathārams as satyam (real and true) and

understanding clearly the avathāra rahasyams of Bhagavān (vicitra caritān

avatārān kecit santah satyān vidanti). “kecit santah ” refers to some righteous

souls like Maharishis, āzhwārs and āchāryās. They comprehend these avthār-

ams as true leelās of Yours (the Lord) instead of some Indhra Jālam. They

worship these Vibhavāvathārams of the Lord and are blessed (vidanti) and de-

scribe what they experience to the others (vadanti). They describe to the

skeptics that these are irrefutable incarnations of the Lord and are free of the

defect of any rajo or tamo gun am and hence is entirely of Suddha Sathvam.

These Sādhus recognize that Your avathārams are for the protection of Your

bhakthās and for the reestablishment of Dharmā, when it is on decline.

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SLOKAM 27

saEzILy Éaivt ixya Évta kwiÂt!

sÁDaidtanip gu[an! vrd TvdIyan!,

àTy]yNTyivkl< tv siÚk«òa>

pTyuiSTv;aimv pyaed v&tan! myUoan! . 27.

souśīlya bhāvita dhiyā bhavatā kathañcit

sañchāditānapi gunān varada tvadīyān |

pratyakshayanti avikalam tava sannikrshtāh

patyuh tvishām iva payoda vr tān mayūkhān ||

MEANING:

Oh Boon Granting Lord of Hasthigiri! Your gunam of Sousīlyam permits You

to mingle readily with every one independent of their lowly status without any

reservation. You are filled with Sousīlya Gun am. To highlight this important

attribute of Sousīlyam, You place in the background Your other gunams like

sakthi, which might intimidate the people and will drive them away from You.

Even if Your celebrated and lofty attributes may not be obvious to common

folks, Mahāns like Thirukkacchi Nambi do not miss them and recognize

readily Your Parathvam. The situation is like the clouds hiding the Sun and

preventing us from seeing the rays of the Sun. For those near the Sun like

arun an, his (Sun’s) rays are readily visible. In a similar vein, some Mahāns are

able to see Your other śresht ha gun ams even while You try to hide them and

enjoy those gun ams immensely.

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COMMENTARY:

The sousīlyam aspects associated with Bhagavath avathārams is the topic of

this slOkam. Our Lord does not think of His loftiness and comes down and

mingles with ease with lowly chEtanams because He has made the sankalpam

to display His sousīlya gun am to give them confidence to come closer to Him.

When He gives Himself so generously, the Jñānis, who know about His

vaibhavam are dumbfounded and declare like Swāmy Nammāzhwār: “ammān

āzhippirān yevvidatthān yānār?” He is the One who is worshipped by the

nithya Sūris and Mukthās in Śrī Vaikuntham and by Vedic scholars in this

world. He is Sarva Swāmy. Compared to His loftiness, who am I? Swāmy

Nammāzhwār felt uncomfortable this way and tried to go away humbly from

his Lord. The Lord however sensed the discomfort of His devotee and used

His Sousīlya Gun am to come closer to Swāmy Nammāzhwār and let him enjoy

His anantha kalyān a gunams and dhivya Mangala vigraham. In

Rāmāvathāram, our Lord befriended the hunter chieftain, Guhan, Vānara king,

Sugrīvan. In Krishnāvathāram, our Lord displayed His sousīlya Gun am to

sport with the gopis, Kuselar and Mālākārar of Kamsan’s court. His mind was

filled with Sousīlyam (souśīlya bhāvita dhiyā). In these avathārams, He hides

His other gunams like Jñāam, Balam, aiswaryam, Vīryam, Śakthi and tejas so

that His bhakthās do not get uneasy to approach Him and displays His sousīlya

gunam to mingle with His bhakthās. The closest adiyārs of Bhagavān like

āzhwārs, āchāryās (Thirumazhisai, Thirukkacchi Nambi, Sage Viswāmithrā)

are able to see clearly all the powerful gunams of the Lord, which are hidden

by the gunam of Sousīlyam (tava sannikrshtāh avikalam pratyakshayanti).

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SLOKAM 28

inTy< krIz itimraivl †òyae=ip

isÏaÃnen ÉvtEv ivÉUi;ta]a>,

pZyNTyupyuRpir sÂrtam†Zy<

maya ingUFmnpay mhainix< Tvam!. 28.

nityam karīśa timirāvila dr shtayah api

siddhāñjanena bhavataiva vibhūshitākshāh

paśyanti upari upari sañcaratāmadrśyam

māyā nigūd ham anapāya mahānidhim tvām ||

MEANING:

Oh Karīśa! Even those chetanams, who stay surrounded in the darkness of

ajñānam as a result of their sins, have their inner eyes opened by You as if they

were influenced by the collyrium applied by the siddha purushās. The

collyrium of the Siddhās enables the recipient to discover the treasure that lay

hidden under their very feet, which they were not aware of until then. You are

that collyrium for Punyasālis and they overcome the curtain of Prakruthi and

see You as the everlasting treasure of Your dhivyāthma svarūpam in an

uninterrupted way.

COMMENTARY:

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The darsana saubhāgyam of Lord Varadan will chase away one’s sins and lead

to Jñānam of the highest order. In the previous slOkam, the experience of

special devotees like Thirumazhisai āzhwār to see the Lord in all His

splendour and not be content with His sousīlya gun am that He used to allay

their discomfort about His other powerful gunams. In this slOkam, Swamy

says that those who engage in the practice of nivrutthi dharmams (Karma,

Bhakthi, Prapatthi yogams) and have the darsanam of Varadharājan experience

growth in their Jñānam and see their Pāpa rāsis dwindle. Their bhramams are

gone and they regain their vision and are cured of the cataract that clouded

their visions (timirāvila dr shtayah api). Your arcā Thirumeni is matchlessly

beautiful from head to toe and those who are fortunate to enjoy it feel like they

have benefited from a siddhānjanam that has been applied on their eyes. Your

dhivyāthma svarūpam becomes clear to these Bhāgyasālis through the darsana

saubhāgyam of Your dhivya Mangal a vigraham at Kāñci.

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SLOKAM 29

s*STyjiNt vrd Tviy bÏ Éava>

pEtamhaid;u pde:vip Éav bNxm!,

kSmE Svdet suo sÂr[aeTsukay

karag&he knk ï&Œlya=ip bNx>. 29.

sadyah tyajanti varada tvayi baddha bhāvāh

paitāmahādishu padeshvapi bhāva bandham |

kasmai svadeta sukha sañcaran a utsukāya

kārāgr he kanaka śr n khalayā api bandhah ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord who grants all the boons that one seeks! Those who are strongly

attached to Your sacred feet will not even desire for lofty sthānams like those

of Brahmā and Indran. Will anyone, who wishes to roam freely, shackle

themselves with golden handcuffs? Those who are used to enjoying the divine

soundharyam of Your dhivya mangala vigraham will not seek Brahma padham

and other sukha sthānams.

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COMMENTARY:

The effects of continuous sevai of Varadarājan are described in this slOkam.

Oh VaradhA! Those who are fortunate to have Your darsanam frequently are

blessed with Vairāgyam and Indhriya nigraham as well as the destruction of

ego, pomposity, deceit and attachment to worldly matters. Their mind is totally

attached to You and rest of the matter get jettisoned (paramātmani yo rakto,

virakto aparātmani). They get attached to Your sacred feet and lose

immediately their interests even in lofty positions like Brahma padham (tvayi

baddha bhāvāh paitāmahādishu padeshvapi bhāva bandham sadyah tyajanti).

They do not want to lead anymore the life of a Bhaddha Jīvan and want to be

free to gain higher and higher levels of Bhagavath anubhavam. They do not

want to be bound anymore down by the shackles of iron (sins) or Gold

(Punyam). They want to travel with sukham (sukha sañcaran a utsukāh). They

do not want to be tied down by iron or golden handcuffs and spend their time

in the Samsāric prison (kasmai kārāgruhe kanaka śrn khalayā api bandhah

svadeta?).

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SLOKAM 30

hStIz Ê>o iv; idGx )lanubiNxin

Aaäü kIqmpraht s<àyaege,

Ê:kmR sÂyvzadœ Êrit³me n>

àTyômÃilrsaE tv in¢haôe. 30.

hastīśa duh kha visha digdha phala anubandhini

ābrahma kīt amaparāhata samprayoge |

dushkarma sañcaya vaśād duratikrame nah

pratyastram añjalih asau tava nigraha astre ||

MEANING:

Atthigiri arulāl ā! Kings of the world apply poison on the tips of their arrows

and aim them at their enemies to destroy them quickly. Similarly, Oh Lord,

You rightfully consider us as Your enemies because of our trespasses of Your

laws. You decide to place the arrow of Your nigraha sankalpam in the bow to

land us in the narakam. It is not easy for anyone to counter Your nigraha

sankalpam. That can reach anyone from the lowliest worm to the mighty

Brahma devan. If Your nigraha sankalpam can not be deflected even by

powerful celestials, how can we who have accumulated countless sins avoid it?

There is however one arrow with us to respond to Your nigraha sankalpam

effectively and nullify it. That powerful counter-arrow with us is the anjali

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mudhrā made up by our folded hands. When we stand before You with our

folded hands in a state of devotion, Your anger comes down quickly and You

bless us with all phalans including Moksha Sukham. That anjali is the potent

antidote for Your nigraha sankalpam.

COMMENTARY:

This slOkam is an echo of the 27th slOkam of Swāmy Āl avanthār’s StOtra

rathnam. Swāmy Deśikan elaborated on the anjali’s power celebrated by

Swāmy Āl avanthār in a Chillarai rahsyam of his own named “anjali

Vaibhavam”. That anjali Prabhāvam is the theme of this slOkam. Swāmy

Deśikan speaks on behalf of us and tells the Lord that our anjali is the

prathyasthram for His nigraha asthram.

The details about the Śrī Sūkti, “anjali Vaibhavam” can be accessed at the

following URL.

http://www.ahobilavalli.org. It is the 8th e-book there.

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SLOKAM 31

TvÑi´ paet mvliMbtu m]ma[a<

par< pr< vrd gNtumnIñra[am!,

SvEr< ill'œ"iy;ta< Év vair raiz<

Tvamev gNtumis seturɼ‚rSTvm!. 31.

tvadbhakti potam avalambitum akshamān ām

pāram param varada gantumanīśvarān ām |

svairam lilañghayishatām bhava vāri rāśim

tvāmeva gantumasi setuh abhañgurah tvam ||

MEANING:

Oh Varadhā! For those who do not have the power and Jñānam to observe the

demanding Bhakthi yogam and yet wish to cross the ocean of Samsāram and

reach its other shore to reside at Your Supreme abode have an upāyam to gain

their longed Purushārtham. That unfailing upāyam (means) is Yourself, who

stands as an undamageable dam to cross over the dangerous samsāric ocean.

These anīsvarās (powerless ones) find You as the abhañgura setu (firm and

safe dam to travel over to reach You).

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COMMENTARY:

Our Lord is the only efficient bridge to cross over the samsAric ocean to reach

the other side of Śrī Vaikun tham, the Supreme abode of the Lord.

Varadhā! There is Bhakthi yogam and Prapatthi yogam to gain Your protection

and enjoy Moksha sukham. Samādhi is the angi for Bhakthi yogam with seven

angams. Bhakthi yogam is hard to observe and is tardy to yield the desired

phalan of Moksham (bhakti potam avalambitum akshamān ām). For those,

who do not possess the Jñānam and Sakthi to cross the ocean of SamsAram on

their own (bhava vāri rāśim svairam lilañghayishatām, pāram param gantum

anīśvarān ām), You are the only safe upāyam to reach You as the Parama

Purushārtham (tvām eva gantum tvam abhañgurah setuh asi) .

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SLOKAM 32

AïaNt s<sr[ "mR inpIiftSy

æaNtSy me vrd Éaeg mrIickasu,

jIvaturStu inrv¢h mexman>

dev TvdIy ké[am&t †iò pat>. 32.

aśrānta samsaran a gharma nipīd itasya

bhrāntasya me varada bhoga marīicikāsu |

jīvātuh astu niravagrahamedhamānah

deva tvadīya karun āmr ta dr shti pātah ||

MEANING:

Oh Devarāja Swāmin! adiyEn is exhausted from the relentless heat of the

summer and chasing after the mirages of evanescent loka sukhams. For adiyEn

suffering terribly from these sorrows, May the ever growing nectarine Karun ā

kat ākshams of Yours fall on adiyEn as a cooling rain and become the

instrument for rejuvenation!

COMMENTARY:

Oh Varadā! Oh Devarājā! I am being scorched by the hot relentless summer

(aśrānta samsaran a gharma nipīditasya me). I am chasing after vishaya

sukhams like some one deluded by thirst during the heat of summer, and am

running after the mirages. The only remedy against this suffering is Your ever

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g r o w i n g K a r u n a i ( n i r a v a g r a h a m e d h a m ā n a h

tvadīya karunāmr ta drshti pātah ). May those Karun ā Kat ākshams of Yours fall

on me and bring me back to life from my stupefied state (jīvātuh astu)!

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SLOKAM 33

ANt> àivZy ÉgvÚiolSy jNtae>

AaseÊ;Stv krIz É&z< dvIyan! ,

sTy< Éveymxuna=ip s @v ÉUy>

SvaÉaivkI tv dya yid naNtray>. 33.

antah praviśya bhagavan akhilasya jantoh

āsedushah tava karīśa bhrśam davīyān |

satyam bhaveyam adhunā api sa eva bhūyah

svābhāvikī tava dayā yadi na antarāyah ||

MEANING:

Oh Bhagavān who is the good fortune (Bhāgyam) of Kāñci! You are present as

the indweller in all janthus and are near them. In spite of Your proximity,

adiyEn did not know that you are residing inside my heart lotus due to my

ignorance about Your Gun ams and Vaibhavams. This resulted in my being far

away from You. Now Your svābhāvika (intrinsic) compassion has blessed

adiyEn to know You and become Your śeshan (servant). Had not Your Karunai

stood opposite my ignorance and prevented adiyEn from You, I would have

stayed far away from You.

COMMENTARY:

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In the previous slOkam, Swāmy Deśikan’s prayer was for the Lord’s Karun ā

kat ākshams to fall on him and bring him back to life (jīvātu astu). Perarul Al an

responds affirmatively to the moving prayer of Swāmy Deśikan. His Karun ā

kat akshams fell on Swāmy Deśikan. In this slOkam, Swāmy praises the Dayā

gunam of the Lord which has made a difference between being lifeless and

being fully conscious about his savrūpa Jñānam. Swāmy Deśikan shudders

over the thought about his lot, had not Lord Varadan’s Karunā Kat akshams

fallen on him to bring him back to life.

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SLOKAM 34

A}at ingRm mnagm veidn< mam!

ANx< n ikiÂdvlMbnmZnuvanm!,

@tavtI— gmiytu> pdvI— dya¦ae>

ze;aXvlez nyne k #vaitÉar>. 34.

ajñāta nirgamam anāgama vedinam mām

andham na kiñcit avalambanam aśnuvānam |

etāvatīm gamayituh padavīm dayāl oh

śeshādhva leśanayane ka iva atibhārah ||

MEANING:

Oh Perarul ālā! adiyEn is like a blind man, who entered into an intractable

forest not knowing where the exits are. adiyEn has not a staff to lean on and do

not know why I ended up in the forest. I was lost and was going round and

round in the inhospitable forest. At that time, Your cool glances fell on adiyEn

and You blessed me to gain a Sadāchāryan to gain tatthva Jñānam for

ujjevanam. adiyEn understood that I entered the forest of Samsāram because of

performing kāmya karmās that led to the accumulation of sins. adiyEn was

instructed by my Sadāchāryan that the pursuit of nishkāmya karmās and

observance of Prapatthi will be the ways to get out of the misery of roaming in

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the samsāric forest. Oh Lord! You made it thus possible for me to ascend the

ladder of spiritual advancement culminating in observing the Mokshopāyam of

Prapatthi. Helping me in this manner in many ways, You have made it possible

for me to travel so far safely. There is only a small amount of deha yāthrai left

for adiyEn to ascend to Your Supreme abode and enjoy Moksha Sukham there.

Please bless adiyEn during the remaining small portion of my life on earth to

engage in blemishless kaimkaryam to You and Your Bhāgavathās! It can not be

a burden for You, who has guided me so long and so well until now to help me

a little more in the remaining short duration of life.

COMMENTARY:

The MahOpakārams done by Emperumān are acknowledged here and the

request is made to guide him during the remaining short period of life left on

this earth so that he (Swāmi Deśikan) can safely travel via archirādhi mārgam

to the Supreme abode of the Lord. This slOkam takes on the form of a

Prapannan’s prayer acknowledging the MahOpakārams received from the Lord

in a spirit of gratefulness similar to that expressed by Swamy Nammāzhwār:

`ziyat `Rqazipf epRma[f ecyfy<mf

`nftmila utvi 'lflamf `qpfpaaf ~Er?

azhiyātha arul āzhip-PerumAn seyyum

anthamilā udhavi ellām al appār ārE?

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Swāmy Deśikan’s Śrī Sūkti of upakāra Sangraham lists all the MahOpakārams

received from the Lord all the way upto reaching Parama Padham.

In this slOkam, Swāmy Deśikan refers to the few upakārams to be done yet by

the Lord in the upakāra Paramparai until dehāvasānam (shaking off the mortal

coils). adiyEn was like a child, a blind man and ignoramus. Oh Most Merciful

Lord! You shook me and woke me up and showed the way to a Sadāchāryan to

perform Saran āgati unto You (ajñāta nirgamam, anāgama vedinam, andham

kiñcit avalambanam na aśnuvānam mAm).

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SLOKAM 35

ÉUyae=ip hNt vsityRid me ÉivÇI

yaMyasu ÊivR;h v&iÄ;u yatnasu,

sMyGÉiv:yit tt> zr[agtana<

s<ri]teit ibéd< vrd TvdIym!. 35.

bhūyah api hanta vasatih yadi me bhavitrī

yāmyāsu durvishaha vr ttishu yātanāsu |

samyag bhavishyati tatah śaran āgatānām

samrakshiteti birudam varada tvadīyam ||

MEANING:

Oh Varadhā! If a chEtanam, who has observed Prapatthi at Your sacred feet,

land in the painful pits of narakam and suffer there, it will harm Your

reputation as Saran āgata Samrakshakan (One who protects well those who

sought Your refuge). Therefore, You have to work hard to protect adiyEn from

Naraka vethanai and maintain Your vows to Saran āgatās.

COMMENTARY:

In the previous slOkam and this one, Swāmy Deśikan is expressing happiness

over the completion of his Prapatthi and the state of nirbharam (burdenless)

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and nirbhayam (fearlessness). He has become a krutha kruthyar through

anushtāna pūrti. He sees signs of Prapatthi nishtai in him. He is reflecting

joyously over the Parama Purushārtham of Śrī Vaikun tha Vāsam and the joy of

performing blemishless kaimkaryam to the dhivya dampathis there. In an

earlier slOkam, Swāmy Deśikan reminded and thanked the Lord for His

MahOpakārams. Here, he expresses his state of freedom from fear as a result

of Lord Varadarājan standing as an eager Saran āgata Samrakshakan. His

feeling state of elation over reaching the stage of Krutha Kruthyan is a sign of

Prapatthi nishtai as explained in Svanishtābhijña adhikāram of Śrimath

Rahasya thraya Sāram. The Prapannan has completed his āthma Samarpan a

anushtānam and is looking forward to the next chapter in his life: enjoying the

fruits of His Prapatthi and traveling by archirādhi Mārgam to Śrī Vaikuntham

to enjoy Paripūrna Brahmānandham through nithya, niravadhya Kaimkaryam

there to his divine parents. The prapannan is not afraid of death anymore and

welcomes death as a dear guest. He is free from fears about sufferings

(Yāthanai) in narakam (yāmyāsu durvishaha vr ttishu yātanāsu). Yama kinkarās

stay away from him because of the power of his Prapatthi. adiyEn will be well

protected by You due to Your sensitivity to protect Your various titles and

consequent responsibilities that You have as “Prapanna Jana Samrakshakan”,

“athyudhāran”. adiyEn will carry on the rest of my life here with the thought:

“ini piRavOm, nanRE varuvathu ellAm, namakku param onrilathE”. We are

not going to be born again in this Samsāric world. Whatever that will happen

after Prapatthi would only be auspiciousness. There is nothing left for us

except residence with Him at His Supreme Abode. Oh atthigiri Thirumāle!

adiyEn will not be exposed to any narakānubhavam since You will strive to

protect Your celebrated title as Saranāgata Rakshakan.

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SLOKAM 36

pyaRk…l< mhit Ê>o pyaeinxaE ma<

pZyn! krIz yid jae;mviSwtSTvm!,

S)are][e=ip im;it Tviy ininRme;<

pare kir:yit dya tv ÊinRvara. 36.

paryākulam mahati duhkha payonidhau mām

paśyan karīśa yadi joshamavasthitah tvam |

sphāra īkshan e api mishati tvayi nirnimesham

pāre karishyati dayā tava durnivārā ||

MEANING:

Oh Varadarājā! adiyEn is struggling in the samsāra Man d alam and am slowly

sinking in the ocean of sorrow. You stand on atthigiri quietly and watch me

struggle to gain my foothold and do not make a move to come to my rescue.

Meanwhile, the apāra karun āmayī, Perumdevi Thāyār, my Mother could not

stand watching my sufferings and She would intervene and take me over to the

other shore of Samsāric ocean and place adiyEn at Your sacred feet. You can

not stop Her from this merciful act. Even if You ignore me, She will intercede

for me and will find a way for my ujjīvanam.

COMMENTARY:

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This is another slOkam that stresses the Mahā Viswāsam Swāmy Deśikan has

over the Lord protecting him as a Prapannan. Swāmy Deśikan describes his

feeling state in the utthara Kruthyam stage of Prapatthi and his Mahā

Viswāsam in being protected by the Dayā Gun am of the Lord. Dayā is the

Gun esvari among the Lord’s gunams. She is the supporting staff for the

akinchanās. She is behind all the vyāpārams of the Lord as creation,

sustenance and protection as well as his avathārams. Swāmy Deśikan places

total trust in Dayā Devi to intercede on his behalf as needed (tava dayā

durnivārā pare karishyati). Dayā Devi will quench the Lord’s nigraha

sankalpam and bring out His anugraha sankalpam and come to his rescue

without fail. Swāmy Deśikan follows the way laid out by KurEsar, who

stressed the central role of Dayā gunam of the Lord for assuring us nithya

kaimkaryam in Śrī Varadarāja Stavam: “Karīśa! teshāmapi tāvakī dayā

tatātvakr t saiva tu me balam matam”. About the importance of Dayā (Krupāa

Gun am), Sītā Pirātti explains: “vadhārhamapi Kākuthstha: krupayā

paryapālayat” (Even if the offense committed by the Kākāsuran deserved

death, Lord Rāmachandran protected it out of His dayā gun am and spared it

from death). In Gadhyam, Lord Ranganātha reminds Rāmānuja that he will be

blessed true Jñānam through His Dayāa alone (madheeyaiva dayayā --). This

Swāmy Deśikan concludes that the Dayā gun am of the Lord can not be

stopped by anyone or any thing to deliver him at the sacred feet of

Varadharājan.

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SLOKAM 37

ik< va krIz k«p[e miy r][Iye

xmaRid baý shkair gve;[en,

nNviSt ivñ pirpaln jagêk>

s»Lp @v Évtae inpu[> shay>. 37.

kim vā karīśa kr pane mayi rakshan īye

dharmādi bāhya sahakāri gaveshan ena |

nanvasti viśva paripālana jāgarūkah

sañkalpa eva bhavato nipun ah sahāyah ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of Atthigiri! adiyEn does not have the wherewithal to practice the

difficult Bhakthi yogam. adiyEn does not have the needed Jñānam and sakthi

to engage in the pursuit of Bhakthi yogam. Therefore, adiyEn chose to seek

You as my refuge and have performed Saran āgati at Your sacred feet. It has

now become Your duty to protect adiyEn without failing. You can not examine

whether adiyEn is performing nithya, naimitthika karmās without blemishes.

They are not of direct help to my Prapatthi. You are wide awake to carry out

Your sankalpam of protecting those, who sought Your refuge. Your sankalpam

alone is my strength. Why should You be looking for some thing else for the

fulfillment of my Prapatthi

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COMMENTARY:

Here, Swāmy Deśikan praises the power of Lord’s anugraha sankalpam. “viśva

paripālana jāgarūkah jāgarūkah bhavatah sañkalpa eva nipun ah sahāyah asti na

tu?” Oh Karīśa! What is the point in seeking the help of Dharmās for my

protection, when Your anugraha sankalpam is my protection? Your sankalpam

that motivates Your Śaran āgata rakshan a kāryam is under the control of Your

Dayā gun am. adiyEn is a Krupan an (Ākinchanan). Ākinchanathvam is my

wealth. Ākinchyam in this context is inability to seek any upāyam other than

Śaran āgati (upāyāntara sāmarthya abhāvam). This leads to ananayagatitvam,

the two prerequisites for successful Prapatthi. While a chEtanan has these two

walking sticks (akinchanyam and ananyagatitvam), where is the need to use

the measuring sticks to assess my qualifications following

Veda-Śāstra-dharmams (Yogyathai for Karma, Jñāna, Bhakthi yogams,

expertise in nithya, naimitthika karmānushtānams): “mayi rakshanīye bāhya

sahakāri gaveshan ena vA?”

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SLOKAM 38

inyRNÇ[< pir[miNt n yavdete

nIrNØ Ê:k«t Éva Êirt àraeha>,

tavÚ cet! TvmupgCDis za¼RxNva

zKy< Tvyaip n ih variytu< krIz. 38.

niryantranam parin amanti na yāvadete

nīrandhra dushkrta bhavā durita prarohāh |

tāvanna cet tvam upagacchasi śārn ga dhanvā

śakyam tvayāpi na hi vārayitum karīśa ||

MEANING:

Oh Hasthigirīsā! adiyEn has done limitless number of aparādhams by

transgressing Your Śāsthrams. I continue to engage in such activities. These

acts have led to the accumulation of huge bundles of sins. They serve as seeds

to grow into tall trees with poisonous fruits. Before all these happen, You must

arrive at my side with Your bow named Śārngam and destroy the germinating

seeds of sins and protect adiyEn.

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COMMENTARY:

Swāmy Deśikan goes through a mood of naicchyānusandhānam here and

expresses his impatience (sorrow) over the delay in enjoying the phalan of his

Prapatthi (Phala Vil ambha asahathvam, kālakshepa akshamathvam). He makes

his case to Lord Varadarājan to expedite his arrival at his side so that the

bundle of his sins do not overpower him and cause additional delays in the

enjoyment of the phalans of his Prapatthi. He is in a great hurry to perform

nithya kaimkaryam at Śrī Vaikuntham. Swāmy Deśikan appeals to the Lord to

adorn His bow, Sārngam and rush to his side before the seedlings of sins take

root and become strong and thereby interfere with his Prapatthi expectations

(nīrandhra dushkrta bhavāh ete durita prarohāh niryantranam yāvat na parin

amanti tāvat tvam śārn ga dhanvā na upagacchasi cet tvayāpi vārayitum na

skahyam). These crops arising from my constant accumulation of sins will

grow and grow and begin to bear their inauspicious fruit. Unless and other-

wise, You rush to my side fully armed and destroy them even at their infancy,

it will be impossible for even Yourself to destroy them, when they reach their

maturity. Hence, please rush to my side to protect me is the prayer of Swāmy

Deśikan. Swāmy Deśikan has no sins to speak of. He is “Vitthahan, Vedhiyan,

Vedāntha Desikan, Thūppul Meytthavan, utthaman”. He appealed to Lord

Varadarājān on our behalves, the sinners.

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SLOKAM 39

yavÚ pZyit inkammm;R[ae ma<

æU ɼ ÉI;[ kra¦ muo> k«taNt>,

tavt! ptNtu miy te Égvn! dya¦ae>

%iÚÔ pÒ kilka mxura> kqa]a>. 39.

yāvat na paśyati nikāmam amarshan ah mām

bhrū bhan ga bhīshana karāl a mukhah krtāntah |

tāvat patantu mayi te bhagavan dayāl oh

unnidra padma kalikā madhurāh katākshāh ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord with limitless auspicious attributes! Before Yama Dharma Rājan knits

his brows in anger over my sins and stares at me with his fierce looks, May

Your karun a katāksham originating from the blossoming lotus like eyes fall on

adiyEn! When Your mercy-laden glances fall on adiyEn, I won’t have anymore

fears about Yama dharma Rājan.

COMMENTARY:

In this slOkam, Swāmy Deśikan prays for the karun ā kat āksham of the Lotus

eyed Lord to fall on him to counter the fearsome effects of the anger of Yama

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dharman. In the previous slOkam, Swāmy prayed for the Lord to come to his

rescue before his sins became too powerful. Here, Swāmy is reminded about

the appearance of the fearsome looking Yama dharma Rājan to push him

towards naraka anubhavam in return for his sins. Swāmy appeals to Varadhan

to appear before Yaman shows up and thus protect him from naraka yāthanais.

May Your blossomed lotus eyes and their karunā kat āksham fall on adiyEn

before Yama Dharma Rājan sees me (unnidra padma kalikā, madhurāh , dayāl

oh, te kat ākshāh mayi patantu).

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SLOKAM 40

s Tv< s @v rÉsae ÉvdaEpvaý>

c³< tdev iztxarmh< c paLy>,

saxar[e Tviy krIz smSt jNtae>

mat¼ manu;iÉda n ivze; hetu>. 40.

sa tvam sa eva rabhaso bhavadaupavāhyah

cakram tadeva śitadhāram aham ca pālyah |

sādhāran e tvayi karīśa samasta jantoh

mātan ga mānushabhidā na viśesha hetuh ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord who rushed to the banks of the lotus pond to rescue the King of

Elephants from the hold of the crocodile! Your Mercy is at the same level of

intensity today as it was on that day in which You freed the Gajendhran from

the jaws of the crocodile. The speed of Your Vāhanam, Garudan, is the same

now as it was then. The sharpness of Your Sudarsanam is at the same level

today as it was in those days. adiyEn is just like the Gajendhran, who was

struggling in the lotus pond. You are the Father of all janthus. While it is so,

You can not discriminate against me. You must come to my rescue as You did

to save the endangered Gajendhran.

COMMENTARY:

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Oh Varadharāja! Both You and Your Vāhanam are known for their

unimaginable speed to rush to the side of Your bhakthās, when they are in

distress. This was demonstrated before, when Your visesha Bhakthan,

Gajendhran, underwent himsai from the sharp teeth of the crocodile. Your

weapon of Sudarsanam also displays such speed in chasing and destroying the

enemies of Your Bhakthās (karīśa! tvam sah rabhasah bhavat aupavāhyah sah

eva, śita dhāram cakram sah eva). All the three of You share one thing in

common: the great haste in rushing towards Your target to help. I am also in a

great rush to receive Your rakshan am like Your other Bhakthā, Gajendhran, in

a previous yugam (tadeva aham ca pālyah ). You are the shared rakshakan or

Rakshakan in common for all Janthus, be it an elephant or human and hence

there should not be any discrimination in coming to the rescue of one or the

other (tvayi samasta jantoh sādhārane mātan ga- mānushabhidā viśesha hetuh

na). Thirumangai Mannan’s Mangalāsāsanam of Gajendhra Varadhan at

Thiruvallikken i is anusandheyam here:

~^[yi[f Tyrmf tIrpf p<qfYQafnfT

ec[fB ni[fB ~zi etadfda^[,

Et[maf Eca^l mad mamyi^ltf

tiRvlflikfEk]ikf k]fEdE[.

Ānayin tuyaram thīrap-pullūrnthu

senRu ninRu Āzhi thottānait-

tenamar sOlai maada-māmayilait-

thiruvalliken i kan dene”

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117

Śrī Hasthigiri Mahāthmyam chapter in Brahmān d a Purānam and Swāmy

Deśikan’s Mey Viratha Mānmiyam describe the vaibhavam of Gajendhra

Varadhan. In the Vaikāsi BrahmOthsavam of Lord Varadarājān, on the third

day dawn, enacts this bhakta rakshan a vishayam, which happened in

thretā yugam. Arul āzhi ammān reminds us of this dear bhakthan Gajendhran

on this day.

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SLOKAM 41

invaRpiy:yit kda kirzEl xamn!

ÊvaRr kmR pirpak mhadvai¶m!,

àacIn Ê>omip me suoyiÚv Tvt!-

padarivNd pircar rs àvah>. 41.

nirvāpayishyati kadā kariśaila dhāman

durvāra karma paripāka mahādavāgnim |

prācīna duh kham api me sukhayanniva tvat

pādāravinda paricāra rasa pravāhah ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord of atthigiri! adiyEn has accumulated limitless sins. They have reached

a stage of maturation and are surrounding me like the wild fire. It is difficult to

stop them from consuming me. What is the surest way to quench this fire? The

uninterrupted apachāram-free Kaimkaryam at Your sacred feet alone is the

antidote for quenching this fierce wild fire. The flood of bliss arising from

such kaimkaryams will destroy all my sins and free me from the samsāric

flames. When will that flood of bliss associated with Kaimkaryams to You put

out the wild fire of my sins?

COMMENTARY:

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119

Here Swāmy Deśikan describes the flood of bliss arising from the

Kaimkaryam to Varadhan. In the previous slOkam, Swāmy appealed to the

Lord to come to his protection as He did before for the rescue of Gajendhran.

Here, Swāmy asks with great urge as to when the Lord is going to come to his

rescue.

Swāmy Deśikan asks with great thvarai (eagerness) as to when You are going

to bless adiyEn with Kaimkaryam at His lotus feet (kariśaila dhāman!

tvat pāda aravinda paricāra rasa pravāhah kadā nirvāpayishyati?). This ques-

tion as to when You are going to bless adiyEn is very similar to the queries of

Swāmy Āl avanthār in Stotra Rathnam and Srimath Bhāshyakārar in his

Gadhyam and KurEsar in Śrī Varadarāja Stavam. Swāmy Nammāzhwār asks:

“yenre yennai unnerār kolat-thriuvadikkeezh ninRE ātccheyya nee kon darula

ninaippathu thānn?”.

Kulasekhara Āzhwār expresses his own thvarai this way:

“Thiruvarangap-perunaharul, ten neerp-Ponni tiraikkayyāl adivarudap-pal li kol

l um, karumaniyaik-komal atthaik-kan du kondu yen kan ninaikal yenru kolO kal

ikkum nāl e?”.

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SLOKAM 42

mu´> Svy< suk«t Ê:k«t ï&Œla_yam!

AicRmRuoE rixk«tE ritvaihtaXva,

SvCDNd ik»rtya Évt> krIz

SvaÉaivk< àitlÉey mhaixkarm!. 42.

muktah svayam sukrta dushkrta śr ñkhalābhyām

arcirmukhaih adhikr taih ativāhita adhvā |

svacchanda kiñkaratayā bhavatah karīśa

svābhāvikam pratilabheya mahādhikāram ||

MEANING:

Oh Kari Śaila Krishn a Megham! When will adiyEn be freed from the golden

and iron shackles of Punyam and Pāpam and become a Mukthan, assisted by

archis purushās (agni devan and others) during adiyEn’s travel via the

archirādhi mārgam and arrive at Your supreme abode to enjoy the blessings of

svābhāvika Sāmrājyam there to perform nithya kaimkaryam to You and Your

divine consort and enjoy Paripūrna Brahmānandham?

COMMENTARY:

Here Swāmy Deśikan prays for the boon of niranthara Kaimkaryam in Śrī

Vaikun tham. He says that he is ready now, freed from the two handcuffs

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121

(golden one representing Punya karmā and the steel one denoting sins) and he

has been led to the gates of Śrī Vaikun tham by ādhivāhikās and amānushan, as

well as greeted by Mukthās there. His Bhaddha dasai is over and his muktha

dasai has started and he expresses his ardent desire to perform his

Kaimkaryams. He seeks now Kaimkarya Prāpthi.

The artha Panchaka Pāsuram passages of Swamy Desikan captures the essence

of this SlOkam:

;RvilgfK viDtfT ;Rnft ciAbviDtfT oaf naFyi[alf

kRnilgfkqf kdkfKmf ---

tmf tiRmaTdE[ tamf t[i `rcayf uAbki[fb

`nftmilf Epai[fptftilf `FyvEraD 'AmcfEcaftfT

Mnfti ;znft[ 'lflamf Mkizfkfktf tnfT ~dfekaqfQmf

`nftmila `Rqazi `tftikiaitf tiRmaEl,

iru vilangu viduttu irunda ciRai vidutthu Or nādiyināl

karu-nilankal kadakkum---” artha panchakam, pAsuram 9

tam thirumādhudane thAm tani arasāi uRaikinRa

anthamil perinpatthu adiyavarOdu emai sertthu

munthi izhanthana ellām mukizhkka tantu ātkkol lum

anthamilā ārul āzhi atthigirit-thirumāle

-- artha panchakam, pāsuram 10

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SLOKAM 43

Tv< cet! àsIdis tvaiMs smIptíet!

TvYyiSt Éi´rn"a kirzEl naw,

s<s&Jyte yid c das jnSTvdIy>,

s<sar @; ÉgvÚpvgR @v. 43.

tvam cet prasīdasi tavāmsi samīpataścet

tvayyasti bhaktih anaghā kariśaila nātha |

samsrjyate yadi ca dāsa janah tvadīyah

samsāra esha bhagavan apavarga eva ||

MEANING:

Oh Hasthigiri Lord! Thou should always be pleased with adiyEn and bless me

with intimate sevai of Your dhivya soundharyam. adiyEn should be blessed to

have Bhakthi towards You without expecting anything in return. adiyEn should

be blessed to have the bhāgyam of being united with Your Bhāgavatha ghoshti

to engage in Your Gun ānubhavam. When You bless adiyEn with all these

saubhāgyams, even this Samsāra Man dalam gets transformed into Mukthi

kshethram. adiyEn can enjoy Mokshānandham right here and this samsāram

can transform into the essence of Moksham for adiyEn.

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123

COMMENTARY:

Here, Swāmy Deśikan states that the full anubhavam of Perarulāl an in atthigiri

itself is indeed the equivalent of Moksha Sukham. In the earlier slOkam,

Swāmy Deśikan sought the boon of nithya kaimkaryam in Śrī Vaikun tham for

which the Muktha Jīvan is eligible. This boon of nithya kaimkaryam is sought

by a Prapannan in this world through Śaran āgati at the sacred feet of arcā

Mūrtis. The enjoyment of these arcā Mūrtis is by itself a great auspicious and

moving experience. The kaimkaryams done for these arcā Mūrtis is a prelude

to the nithya kaimkaryam longed for in Śrī Vaikuntham. In this context,

Swāmy Nammāzhwār reminds us in his Thiruvāimozhi Pāsuram that there is

nothing defective in singing about the glories of the Lord here in His leelā

Vibhūthi, performing archanais and Ārādhanams for Him here and spend one’s

time before ascending to His Supreme abode.

Thon daradippodi Āzhwār expresses a similar thought about the arcā Mūrti of

Śrī Ranganātha in his famous Thirumālai Pāsuram:

pcfAcmam^l Epalf Em[i pvqvayf kmlcfecgfk]f

`cfCta ! `mrErEb ! ~yaftmf ekaZnfEt ! '[f{mf, ;cfCAv tvirya[fEpayf ;nftirElakmf ~Qmf

`cfCAvepbi{mf Ev]fEd[f `rgfkmankRqaE[

pacchaimā-malai pOl mEni pavalavāi kamalaccheñkan

accyutā amareRe! āyar tam kozhunthe!

ennum, icchuvai tavira yān pOy indira-lOkam āl um

acchuvai perinum ven den arangamā-nakarulāne.

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Thirumangai extolls arcā avathāram over the other four this way in SiRiya

Thirumadal: “yErār muyal vittu, kākkai pinn pOvathe”.

Thiruppānar states clearly that his eyes will not wish to see anything after

enjoying Lord Ranganāthā’s beauty at Śrīrangam: “ennamudhinaik-kan da

kan kal maRRonRinaik-kānāve”.

Swāmy Deśikan recognizes that he has to be in this world with his physical

body until he is ready to travel to Śrī Vaikuntham as he shakes off his mortal

coils. He wishes to enjoy the beauty and proximity of his ārādhya Mūrti, Lord

Varadhan, while being at His leelā Vibhūti.

Swāmy describes four prerequisites, which will transform this earth itself as

Moksha sthalam:

(1) Proximity to Lord Varadarājan at Kāñci

(2) Having blemishless Bhakthi to Him

(3) Having the anugraha sankalpam of the Lord of atthigiri to have both Bhakthi and physical nearness and

(4) Joining the Bhāgavatha GhOshti of atthigiri ārulāl an.

These four requirements are

(1) tvam prasīdasi cet (anugraha sankalpam),

(2) tava samīpatah asti cet,

(3) tvayi bhaktih anaghā asti cet, and

(4) tvadīyah dāsa janah samsr jyate cet.

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125

If these conditions are met, then this sorrow filled Samsāram will itself be

transformed into Moksha Bhūmi “esah samsāra eva, apavargah ”. In Dayā

śatakam, Swāmy Deśikan expresses a similar thought: “muktānubhūtim iha

dāsyati me mukundah”.

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SLOKAM 44

AahUymanmnpay ivÉUit kamE>

Aalaek luÝ jgdaNXy< AnuSmreym!,

Aalaeihta<zukmnak…l heitjal<

hEr{ygÉR hymex hivÉuRj< Tvam!. 44.

āhūyamānam anapāya vibhūti kāmaih

āloka lupta jagadāndhyam anusmareyam |

ālohitāmśukam anākula heti jālam

hairan ya garbha hayamedha havirbhujam tvām ||

MEANING:

Oh Lord who appeared in the asvamedha Yajñam of Brahmā at Hasthigiri with

“Vapā parimal a vāsita vadana aravindan”! May adiyEn mediate constantly on

the avavthāram of Yours in response to the prayer of Brahma devan adorning

the beautiful and bright Peethāmbharam that drove away the darkness of

ajñānam of the world and holding the dhivyāyudhams in Your hands! May

adiyEn be blessed to mediate on that vision of Your appearance at the Yāga

vedhi daily!

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127

COMMENTARY:

Here Swāmy Deśikan seeks the boon of uninterrupted dhyānam of Lord

Varadarājan. Speaking of various Snānams, the statement of elders is: “Vishnu

cintanam mānasa snānam”. Swāmy Deśikan desires such a Mānasa Snānam.

That type of Snānam removes sins and blesses one with Bhagavath anubhava

rasam. He seeks such an anusmaran am. Swāmy Deśikan gives us some clues

as how to meditate on atthigiri arul ālan:

1. as One who can grant us the everlasting wealth of Moksham (anapāya

vibhūti kāmaih āhūyamānam),

2. as One who destroys the ajñānam (darkness) of the chEtanams (āloka

lupta jagat āndhyam) ,

as One adorning the bright and beautiful peethāmbharam / yellow silk garment

(ālohitha amśukam),

3. as One adorning the tranquil assembly of weapons on His body

(anākula heti jālam) and

4. as One Who enjoyed the Havis in Brahma Devan’s aswamedha

Yāgam at Hasthigiri (hairanya garbha hayamedha havirbhujam tvām anus-

mareyam).

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SLOKAM 45

ÉUyae ÉUy> pu¦k inictE r¼kE rexmana>

SwUl SwUlan! nyn muk…¦EibRætae ba:p ibNËn!,

xNya> keicd vrd Évt> s<sd< ÉU;yNt>

SvaNtE rNtivRny inÉ&tE> SvadyNte pd< te. 45.

bhūyo bhūyah pulaka nicitaih an gakaih edhamānāh

sthūla sthūlān nayana mukulaih bibhrato bāshpa bindūn |

dhanyāh kecid varada bhavatah samsadam bhūshayantah

svāntaih antah vinaya nibhrtaih svādayante padam te ||

MEANING:

Oh Devathā Sārvabhauma! The Punyasālis residing at Your dhivya desam of

Kāñci have the blessings of enjoying Your sevai. Not every one is that

fortunate. While they have Your sevā bhāgyam, the hairs on their bodies stand

on end from that blissful experience. Their eyes shed ānandha bhāshpams

(ānandha kan neer flows). They enrich Your ghoshti with participation in Veda

Vin nappam, aruliccheyal recitations and offering Mantra Pushpams. They have

kept their minds totally focused on You. Such Bhāgyasālis not only enjoy Your

sevai but they also encourage others to share that joy and enrich the unique

rasānubhavam of experiencing Your dhivya Thirumeni.

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129

COMMENTARY:

Here Swāmy observes that the kaimkarya Ghoshti of Perarulāl an makes others

enjoy the delectable nature of those sacred Thiruvadi of Perarul ālan. The

anubhavam of Hasthigirīsan in person and in dhyānam is equivalent to

Mokshānandham. In this slOkam and the ones to follow, Swāmy Deśikan

offers his salutations to the Mahāns (Thondar kulam), which is blessed with

such bhāgyam. Their Bhakthi for Varadhan is witnessed as “svara-netra-anga

vikriyā” (trembling voice and limbs, ānandha bhāshpam flowing from their

eyes). This Bhāgavatha Ghoshti goes on anuyāthrā with the Lord on festival

days and drinks His beauty during the many sevais (BrahmOthsavam,

Navarāthri uthsavam with Perumdevi Thāyār, Panguni utthiram, Mirror hall

sevai, Gandha Podi uthsavam, Purattāsi Śravan a Mangal āsāsanam by Swāmi

Deśikan, Śrī Lakshmi KumAra Tātha Deśikan SaāRRumuRai et al). Those

tadhiyās of the Lord are the fortunate ones (Mahāns and Mahanīyās). Swāmy

Deśikan pays tribute here to Bhagavath Caran āravinda Bhogyathā adhisayam

following the path laid out by the Āzhwārs. Swāmy Nammāzhwār describes

that unique anubhavam and flounders for word to describe that blissful

anubhavam adequately: Are those sacred feet like the delectable nectar that

arose out of the milky ocean? Are they like the sweet jaggery? Are they like

the naivedhyam with six different kinds of taste (aRu suvai un di)? Are they

like nei (clarified butter) or are they like sweet milk to experience? The

Bhagavathās have exquisite ruchi for Bhagavadh anubhavam and are able to

impart to others as well

(dhanyāh kecid varada bhavatah samsadam bhūshayantah , svāntaih antah

vinaya nibhrtaih te padam svādayante). The concentration of these

Bhāgavathās is of single focus through discipline and they make it possible for

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the novices too to experience the sweet and sacred Thiruvadi of their

Varadhan. Swāmy Āl avanthār explains the mind set of these Bhāgavathās in a

moving slOkam of Stotra Rathnam:

tvam&tSyiNdin padp»je

inveiztaTma kwmNyidCDit,

iSwte=rivNde mkrNdinÉRre

mxuìrtae ne]urk< ih vI]te.

tavāmr ta syandini pāda-pan kaje

niveśitātmā katham anyat icchati? |

sthite aravinde makaranta nirbhare

madhuvrato nekshurakam hi vīkshate? ||

Swāmy Āl avanthār says: “How can a honey bee look at a thorny thistle flower,

when it is right next to a honey-flowing Lotus flower? It will turn its back right

away and spend all its time inside the lotus flower. Similarly, how can anyone

who has tasted the nectar flowing from Your sacred feet desire anything else?”

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131

SLOKAM 46

vrd tv ivlaekyiNt xNya>

mrkt ÉUxr mat&kayma[m!

Vypgt pirkmR varva[<

m&gmd p» ivze; nIlm¼m!. 46.

varada tava vilokayanti dhanyāh

marakata bhūdhara mātr kāyamān am |

vyapagata parikarma vāravān am

mr gamada pan ka viśesha nīlaman gam ||

MEANING:

Oh Varadarājā! There are occasions to have Your ekāntha sevai. At those times,

the archakās have to remove Your Kavacham, ābharan ams and garlands. It is

only at those times, we can enjoy the intrinsic beauty of Your limbs and

Thirumeni. When we have such ekāntha sevais, we wonder whether we are

experiencing the appearance of a beautiful hill of Emerald in front of us. When

Kasthūri paste is offered as Thirumanjanam for You at these times, Your

natural śyāmal a meni will intensify in its hue. Only the archakās and other

intimate kaimkaryaparāl s will have the rare bhāgyam of enjoying Your

Thirumeni in privacy. These are truly blessed souls!

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COMMENTARY:

Divya Archa moorthy of SrI Varadharaja Perumal

This slOkam celebrates the Bhāgyasālis, who have the chance to enjoy the an-

tharanga sevai of the Lord prior to and during Thirumanjanams. The archakās

and Sannidhi kaimkaryaparāl s enjoy the Lord’s “Pacchai māmalai pOl meni”

after removing the ābharan ams and Golden kavacham from His Thirumeni

prior to His sacred bath (vyapagata parikarma vāravān am). Only on one day

(Jyeshtābhishekam) can one have the Sevai of Varadhan without the

kavacham. He stands tall as an emerald mountain (marakata bhūdhara mātr

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kāyamān am). The Kasthūri paste on that Marakata Thirumeni leads to a dark

bluish hue like the dark clouds of the rainy season (mrgamada pan ka viśesha

nīlam). The fortunate antharanga kaimkarya Parāl s enjoy such a magnificent

sevai (varada tava vilokayanti dhanyāh). Swāmy Nammāzhwār’s anubhavam

of the dhivya soundharyam of ThirukkuRungudi Nambi have to be recalled

here. Swāmy Nammāzhwār explains how His mind was filled with the

soundharyam of every limb of His ThirumEni:

ecyfy tamArkf k]f}mf `lfKLmf cibfbiAdy<mf vFv<mf

emayfy nIqfKzlf tazfnft EtaqfkQmf paviEy[f M[f nibfKEm

seyya thAmaraik-kan num alkulum siRRidaiyum vadivum

moyya neel kuzhal thāzhntha thOl kalum pāaviyEn mun niRkume

mi[f{mf N\Lmf K]fdlMmf maafpilf tiRmBv<mf

m[f{ p>}mf na[fKEtaQmf vnfetgfKmf ni[fbiDEm

minnum noolum kun d alamum mārbhil tirumaRuvum

mannu pūn um nānku thOl um vanthengum ninRidume

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SLOKAM 47

AinÉ&t pirrMÉE raihta imiNdraya>

knk vly muÔa< k{Qdeze dxan>,

)i[pit zynIyaÊiTwtSTv< àÉate

vrd sttmNtmaRns< siÚxeya>. 47.

anibhrta parirambhaih āhitām indirāyāh

kanaka valaya mudrām kan t hadeśe dadhānah |

phan ipati śayanīyāt utthitah tvam prabhāte

varada satatam antar mānasam sannidheyāh ||

MEANING:

Oh boon granting Varadhā! You rest on the divine bed of Ādhiśeshan all night

with Your Devi. She tightly embraces You during Your nidhrā and at that time,

the marks from Her golden bangles leave a mark on Your beautiful neck. When

You wake up at dawn to the sound of the Vaidhāl ikā’s Suprabhātham, those

marks on Your neck are still visible. May that vision of You at the time of

suprabhātham stay fresh in adiyEn’s mind always!

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COMMENTARY:

Swamy Desikan prays for the lasting of Varadhan’s suprabhātha sevai in his

mind in this slOkam. The Visvarūpa Sevais at Lord Varadarājan’s Sannidhi are

special:

Serthi Sevai of Sri Perumadevi ThAyAr and Ubhaya Naachiyaars, who are

Prathibhimbhams of Sri Perumdevi ThAyAr with Sri Varadharaja Perumal

( Image courtesy: Sri Narasimhan Sampathkumar)

( 1 ) On all days except Panguni utthiram day, the Śayana bhera Man avAla

Perumān joins Perumdevi Thāyār for Serthi at ardha Jāmam. Next morning,

this Mūrti arrives at the swing in Man avāl a muRRam after being carried in

kaitthal am with mangal a vādhyams, climbs the Hasthigiri and enjoys His daily

Thirumanjanam there. The Visvarūpam at that early morning hour is a beauti-

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ful one to enjoy. Swāmy Deśikan enjoys the Serthi signs on the Thirumeni of

the Śayana bherar as pointed out by the uthsavar and Moolavar and invites us

to enjoy this special sevai (prabhāte phan ipati śayanīyāt utthitah tvam, in-

dirāyāh anibhrta parirambhaih āhitām kanaka valaya mudrām kan thadeśe dad-

hānah ). The tight embrace of Perumdevi Thāyār during Their Serthi has left

the marks on the neck region of the Lord from the golden bangles that she

wears.

( 2 ) On Panguni utthiram day, uthsavar enjoys Serthi with Perumdevi

Thāyār, Vakshasthala Lakshmi, ubhaya Nācchiyār, Ān d āl and Malayāl a

Nāachiyār, who are Perumdevi Thāyār’s Prathibhimbhams.

( 3 ) The suprabhātha Sevai during NavarAthri festival will be at the

mirror room, when serthi Sevai of Perarulāl an and Perumdevi Thāyār is

enjoyed. Swamy prays for the boon of all these Suprabhātha Sevais to be

etched in his mind (antar mānasam satatam sannidheyāh).

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SLOKAM 48

turg ivhgraj SyNdnaNdaei¦kaid;u

Aixk mixk mNya maTm zaeÉa< dxanm!,

Anvixk ivÉUit< hiStzEleñr< Tvam!

Anuidn minme;ElaRecnEinRivRzeym!. 48.

turaga vihagarāja syandanā āndolikā ādishu

adhikam adhikam anyām ātma śobhām dadhānam |

anavadhika vibhūtim hastiśaileśvaram tvām

anudinam animeshaih locanaih nirviśeyam ||

MEANING:

Oh Perarul āl ā! You enjoy uthsavams that have no parallel anywhere else in the

world. Your sevai during each day of Your uthsavams with the huge umbrellas,

Chāmarams, Vādhyams like Thiruchinnam are unique to You. Your beauty on

those occasions is indescribable. When You travel in Your Rāja Veethis on

horse back, Garudan, Palanquin and Chariot (Thirutther), Your Thirumeni

reveals newer and newer soundharyams. When our eyelids shut even for a

second during such enjoyment of Your sevai, we lose for that instant the

continuity of the enjoyment of the ever-changing beauty of Your Thirumeni. It

is not enough to have just two eyes to enjoy Your soundharyam during these

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uthsavams. Please bless us with more eyes and make those eyes freed from

shutting even for a second. May we be blessed to enjoy Your dhivya

soundharyam with such eyes!

Parrupadu of Sri Bhu Devi ThAyArs Sametha Sri Varadharaja Perumal during

an Utsavam

COMMENTARY:

Here, Swāmy Deśikan prays for the boon of enjoying the Lord in all His

splendor during the different upheaval days, when He travels on the Raja Vedic

of Chinna Kāñchipuram. Swāmy Deśikan prays for the Bhāgyam of enjoying

the Lord always even without missing His sevai through the blinking of his

eyes(tvām animeshaihlocanaih anudinam nirviśeyam). The constantly chang-

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139

ing āthma Śobhā of the Lord during those uthsavams are saluted here. During

Brahmothsavam times, Lord Varadarājan passes through Thūppul and on spe-

cial occasions comes inside the sannidhi of Swāmy Deśikan for receiving his

Dear Bhakthan’s Mangal āsāsanam. On the various uthsavam days, special

alankārams like kodāli muducchu, Thoppa Hāra Kirītam, navarathna Mālais,

Makara kan dikai, red Sikku tādu kond ai, Vajra ūrdhva pun dram on special

days and tilakam on other days, Venkadādhri kondai and many Dhagadi

Vasthrams. The enjoyment of Swāmy Deśikan is aptly expressed by Swamy

Nammāzhwār:

'pfepaRQmf ta[ayf mrktkfK[fbemakfKmf

`pfepaZAttf tamArpfp>kf k]f patmf Akkmlmf

'pfepaZTmf naqf tigfkqa]fD Uzi UzietaBmf

`pfepaZAtkfkpfepaZT '[f ~ravMtEm.

epporulum thānāy marakatak kunRamokkum

appozhuthait thāmaraipūk kan pādam kai kamalam

eppozhthum nāl thinkal ān dūhi ūzhithoRum

appozhuthaikkappozhuthu en Ārāvamudame.

-- Thiruvāimozhi, pāsuram 2.5.4

MEANING ACCORDING TO DR. V. N. VEDĀNTA DEŚIKAN

I am sorry I have to repeat what I have said. It is because the experience I have

had is refreshingly new, every moment, even if I enjoy it for days, years, ages

and millennia, without any satiety. The infinite variety, unlike tiring uniform

monotony, makes every moment a fresh bliss. It is an experience sui generis,

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mind you. Do not think the kind of progress every moment is because of

progress of the intellect. The Lord has granted me the flawless perfect intellect

at the very outset. The experience of the Lord's company is on a different plane

and I can enjoy now what I haven't enjoyed for ages! He who is the inner soul

of all, having all things as His aspects, looking a greenish cool hill of beauty,

with eyes, feet, hands all like lotus flowers that have freshly blossomed at the

very moment. He is nectar that is sweet and sweet every moment, insatiable

and unceasingly enjoyable.

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SLOKAM 49

inrNtr< inivRztSTvdIym!

ASp&ò icNtapdmaiÉêPym!,

sTy< zpe var[ zElnaw

vEk…{Q vase=ip n me=iÉla;>. 49.

nirantaram nirviśatah tvadīyam

aspr shta cintā padam ābhirūpyam |

satyam śape vāran a śailanātha

vaikuntha vāse api na me abhilāshah ||

MEANING:

Atthigiri arulāl ā! The beauty of Your Thirumeni is beyond thought or speech.

adiyEn is blessed to take in Your soundharyam as much as possible even if it is

with adiyEn’s imperfect physical eyes (ūnakkann/Māmsa Chakshus). While

adiyEn is steeped in the Ānandha anubhavam of enjoying your dhivya

Thirumeni , I have no desire to live at Śrī Vaikun tham. adiyEn vows that this

state of mind of mine is utterly true. Will adiyEn’s mind opt for this current

Ānandha anubhavam in favor of a far too distant Moksha Sukham. Definitely

not!

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COMMENTARY:

Swāmy Deśikan states in this slOkam that he has no desire for residence in Śrī

Vaikun tham, if he is blessed with the continuous enjoyment of Varadhan on

this earth. He swears on this sankalpam (vaikun t ha vāse api na abhilāshah

satyam śape).

aspr shta cintā padam tvadīyam ābhirūpyam - Your beauty is not possible to be

described or even fully grasped by the mind. The situation is like the

Upanishad Vākyam about Brahman: “yato vācā nivartante, aprāpya manasā

saha” (Speech fails to describe the Brahaman and the mind after a futile

attempt returns back to where it started). The anubhavam of Swāmy Deśikan

about the riveting attraction of Lord Varadhan’s soundharyam is like

Periyāzhwār’s anubhavam of ThirumālirumchOlai EmperumAn:

“inRu vanthu unnaik-kandū konden”, “unakku Panīi seythirukkum tavam

udayen”, “inip-pOha viduvathun de”.

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143

SLOKAM 50

VyatNvana té[ tu¦sI damiÉ> SvamiÉOya<

mat¼aÔaE mrkt éic< pu:[tI manse n>,

ÉaegEñyR iày shcrE> ka=ip lúmI kqa]E>

ÉUy> Zyama Éuvn jnnI devta siÚxÄam!. 50.

vyātanvānā tarun a tul asī dāmabhih svāmabhikhyām

mātan gādrau marakata rucim pushnātī mānase nah |

bhogaiśvarya priya sahacaraih kā api lakshmī kat ākshaih

bhūyah śyāmā bhuvana jananī devatā sannidhattām ||

MEANING:

Perarul ālan has the natural hue like a dark blue jāthi sapphire. He adorns dark

green Krishna Tul asi garlands that add to the beauty of His natural hue.

Perumdevi Thāyār is with Him and Her karunā kat ākshams bless us with

anugrahams here and in the other world. She looks at Her Lord with adoration.

Those blue (cool) glances of Hers also mingle with the rich assembly of blue

colors associated with the Lord of Hasthigiri. That integrated blue radiance

from the divine body of the Lord spreads all over the Hasthigiri. That makes us

wonder whether Hasthigiri is a mountain of Maragatham. May this Lord of

many shades of bluish hue reside in our hearts and bless us always!

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COMMENTARY:

The prayer to Lord Varadarājan here is: Oh Lord with Parabrahma lakshan ams

like Sarva kāran athvam should always have Your abode in the minds of Your

Bhakthās. In the previous slOkam, Swāmy Deśikan stated that he does not

even want stay in Śrī Vaikun tham because he was steeped in the enjoyment of

the matchless soundharyam of the Lord at Hasthigiri. Elsewhere, he had stated

that he wants to enjoy the beauty of the Lord without even closing his eyes for

winking. He did not want to miss out the enjoyment even for the short duration

of winking. Now, Swāmy Deśikan gives his opinion on what one should do,

When the Lord’s sevai is not available for any number of reasons. Swāmy

Deśikan suggests that at those times, we should gain the visualization of

Varadhan through dhyānam (meditation). Like the first slokam of this

Pañcāśat , the 50th slOkam is also set in the form of a lofty prayer on behalf of

all of us to bless us with His Sākshāthkāram adorning the ever verdant Tul asi

garland, Sandal paste, Yellow vasthram, yajñopavītam, Sankha chakrams,

abhaya hastham, Mace and a very few Thiruvābharan ams. May Thou reside in

the heart cavity of all of Your devotees in the from You are at on top of Hasthi

Giri spreading Your Maragatha luster at Your Sannidhi (mātan ga adrau svām

abhikyAm vyātanvānā marakata rucim pushnātī; bhuvana jananī, kā api devatā

nah mānase).

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SLOKAM 51

#it ivihtmudar< ve»qezen É®ya

ïuit suÉgimd< y> StaeÇm¼Ikraeit

kirizoir ivq» Swaiyn> kLpv&]at!

Évit )lmez;< tSy hStapceym!. 51.

iti vihitam udāram ven kat eśena bhaktyā

śruti subhagamidam yah stotram an gīkaroti |

kariśikhari vit an ka sthāyinah kalpa vr kshāt

bhavati phalam aśesham tasya hasta apaceyam ||

MEANING:

This stotram entitled “Śrī Varadarāja Pañcāśat” was composed with devotion

by adiyEn with the name of Venkatesan. It has deep Vedānthic doctrines that

are embedded in it. It will be sweet to the ears of the listeners. It has the glories

equivalent to the Vedās. Those who recite these slOkam and comprehend their

meanings will be blessed with all saubhāgyams. On the top of Hasthigiri is the

divine abode of the Lord and there He grants all the boons desired by His

devotees like the Karpaga tree in Indhrā’s garden. The fruits from the trees are

at low lying branches and can be plucked readily by any one. These fruits can

be enjoyed here on this earth and also at Śrī Vaikuntham. May we all recite this

stotram on Lord Varadarājan and be blessed!

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COMMENTARY:

This is the Phala Sruti SlOkam. Swāmy Deśikan says that these fifty slOkams

were composed with great Bhakthi for Lord Varadarājan (iti ven kateśena

bhaktyā vihitam). The slOkams of this stOtram has deep Vedānthic meanings

and is delectable for the ears and are also very auspicious (idam stotram

udāram, śruti subhagam). Whoever recites this stOtram and understands its

depth of meaning through āchāryās (yah idam stotram an gīkaroti), for Him,

the Lord having His abode under the Pun yakOti Vimānam will grant all the

desired Phalans as the KaRpakā tree and those phalans can be readily picked

like fruits on the low lying branches (tasya kariśikhari vitan ka sthāyinah kalpa

vrkshāt aśesham phalam hasta apaceyam bhavati). For those who recite this

Pañcāśat with devotion, Lord of Hasthigiri grants the Sāthvīka sukhams of

Cows, children, Dhānyam, Gruham, ashta aiswaryams, Svargam, lofty

positions like that of Śivan, Brahman et al, kaivalyam (āthmānubhavam) and

the best of all boons, Moksham. Swāmy Deśikan’s Mangal āsāsanam on this

Sakala Phala pradha Varadhan is:

tmT `^[tfTmf `vaf tmkfK vzgfkiy<mf ta[f mik viqgfKmf

`Amv<Ady `Rqaqaf--

tamathu anaitthum avar tamakku vazhangiyum, thAmm miha vil angum

amaivudaya arul āl ar--.

kivtaikRkis<hay kLya[gu[zailne,

ïImte ve»qezay vedaNtgurve nm>.

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kavitārkikasimhāya kalyān agun aśāline | śrīmate ven kat eśāya vedāntagurave namah ||

. #it ïIvrdrajpÂazt! spaÝm!.

namO Śrī mahā devi SamEta Śrī Varadarājāya!

dāsOham, Oppiliappan Koil Varadāchāri Sadagopan

VARADARĀJA PAÑCĀŚAT VARADARĀJA PAÑCĀŚAT - An English summary of Thesis

By

Dr. T.N. ĀRAVAMUDHAN

( Master Of Philosophy degree awarded in 1990

by the University of Madras, MADRAS )

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149

Śrī Vedānta Deśika holds a unique position in the history of

Viśishtādvaita literature and comes next only to Śrī Rāmānuja in importance.

Following the footsteps of Śrī Yāmunācārya, Śrīvatsan kamiśra and Parāśarabhat

t a, Śrī Deśika too has composed ‘stotras’ in the Śrīvaishnava tradition. The

stotras of Deśika render the quintessence of the vedic lore, upanishads, purān ās

and other scriptures but yet are simple enough to attract the attention of even a

common reader1. The contribution of Deśika is on par with that of Ālwārs.

What they did in Tamil, Śrī Deśika did in Sanskrit.

Śrī Deśika is said to have composed 28 stotra poems. One such hymn is the

‘Varadarāja Pañcāsat’. Most of the stanzas reflect the ideas of Ālwārs who

have already sung on Śrī Varadarāja. This poem is strictly in the Śrīvaishnava

tradition since it deals with three important principles of Viśisht ādvaita namely

- tattva, hita and purushārtha.

The main topics discussed in this work are:

1. Benediction.

2. Devotion of the poet.

3. The greatness of the holy place Kañchi and the deity there.

4. Viśishtādvaita view of Supreme Being.

5. The five manifestations of the Supreme Being.

6. The doctrine of self- surrender.

7. The Liberation.

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Śrī Deśika who belongs to 13th Century, A.D. was a versatile author. He

has made contributions to almost every field of Sanskrit Literature, the

important among them being -

Yādavābhyudaya - Mahākāvya

Hamsasandeśa - Khan dakāvya

Pādukāsahasra - Devotional poem

Sankalpasūryodaya - Drama

Hayagrīva stotra - Lyric

Raghuvīra gadya - Lyric

Varadarāja Pañcāsat - Lyric

Gopālavi m śati - Lyric

Dayāśataka - Lyric

Śrīstuti, Bhūstuti - Lyrics

Mimāmsāpāduka - Śāstra

adhikaran asārāval i - Śāstra

and commentaries on īśavāsya, Gītā etc. In addition to these Sanskrit works,

Śrī Deśika has also composed a number of works in Tamil.

NOTES

1. The kāvya style scores over scripture on this ground.

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VARADARĀJA PAÑCĀŚAT

(A) A DETAILED NOTE OF CONTENTS OF THE WORK

Description of para, vyūha, etc.

1 Śloka 1 Man gala ślokā of the āśin type. 2 Ślokas 2-6 With a note of humility, the poet expresses his inability

to describe the attributes of Lord Varada. 3 Ślokas 7-8 The greatness of Lord Varadarāja in the holy shrine at

Kāncheepuram. The sacrifices (yajñas) sacred to

4 Ślokas 9-15 The nature of Paramātman according to Viśishtādvaita

philosophy. 5 Ślokas 16-29 The principles of para, vyūha, vibhava, antaryāmin and

arcā as detailed in the Pāñcārātrā agamas. 6 Ślokas 31-43 The status of Prapannas. Śrī Varadarajā’s compassion

towards them, the role of ‘hita’ in the progress towards

7 Ślokas 44- 49 The service rendered to Śrī Varadarāja grants supreme

joy equal to that of Bliss. 8 Śloka 50 The poet prays for the grace of Varada 9 Śloka 51 Phalasruti.

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Slokas 16,17 - Divyātma Svarūpa

18 - Para rūpa

19 - Vyūha rūpa

20, 21 - antaryāmi rūpa

22-25 - Vibhava rūpa

26 - The compassion of the Lord for his devotees.

27-29 - arcā rūpa

30 - The principle of self-surrender.

(B) THE NATURE OF JĪVĀTMAN AS SET OUT IN VARADARĀJA PAÑCAŚAT (VP)

The problem of jīvatmā has been discussed in a number of Upanishads and in

the works of the great Ācāryās. The nature of jīvatmā, its independence, its

will to act, its conscious state, the relationship between jīvatmā and

paramātmā, whether the jīvās are one or many - all those problems have been

analysed in a number of philosophical treatises. But the arguments developed

in these works are too minute and technical for the common man. The

Varadarāja Pañcaśat aims at educating even a layman on these principles, by

means of short lyrics.

(i) The jīva as a ‘karta’

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153

It is believed that the jīvā is a ‘kartā’. The Vedas substantiate this hypothesis.

The Brahmasūtrās also vindicate this stand.1

Rāmanuja’s Bhāshya on the Brahmasūtra passage makes this point clear2. It is

the śāstrās, the scriptures which activate man by their instructions. If the

performer and enjoyer are different, then the doer of an action will not have an

inclination to perform an action. Hence the performer of an action should also

be its enjoyer. In other words, the jīvā is the ‘kartā’. Śrī Ramānuja goes a step

further and says that jīvā performs his actions under the directions of the

Supreme Being3.

The concept of ‘jīvā as a kartā’ has been enunciated by Śrī Deśika in the third

śloka of Varadarāja Pañcāśat. The poet expresses his inability to exhaust the

qualities of the Lord, while describing them. That jīvā is capable of

performing4 actions but he has his own limitations and that he has to be guided

by the Supreme Being, have been beautifully brought out by the poet in this

śloka.5

jānannanādi vihitānaparadhavargān

svamin bhayāt kimapi vaktumaham na śaktah |

avyājavatsala tathā=pi niran kuśam mām

vātsalymeva bhavto mukharīkaroti ||

(ii) The jīvā and the scope of his intelligence (jñāna):

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The ‘jñāna’ is of two kinds as ‘Dharmabhūtajñāna’ and ‘Dharma

svarūpajñāna’. Śrī Deśika views ‘Dharmabhūthajñāna’ from two angles - (i) as

that associated with the object (ii) as that associated with the knower.6 This

‘Dharmabhūthajñāna’ is capable of both expansion and contraction. It may

undergo reductions also due to sins committed in previous births.7 It may

expand on account of the grace of the Lord or due to the disappearance of

obstacle on the way to the procurement of knowledge. The same idea has been

expressed by Śrī Deśika in the line “tanme samarpaya matim ca sarsvatīm

ca”. It is possible to attain knowledge by the grace of the Lord. This idea is

again stressed by Śrī Deśika in 43rd sloka thus – “samsāra yesha

bhagavannapavarga yeva”. “If I have faith in you, this very world becomes

‘moksha’ for me.”

(iii) The status of Jīvātmā:

The vedic passages indicate that the animate and the inanimate objects become

the body of the Lord. This is one of the fundamental principles of

viśishtādvaita. This concept is called “pradhānapratitantra” and passages

expressing this idea are termed as “ghatakaśruti”. The same idea has been

brought out by Śrī Deśika in 3 ślokas viz.,

1. padmāsanādishu śivādishu kañcukeshu (VP Ślokam 10)

2. sarvacarācarātman (VP Ślokam 12)

3. trailokyametadakhilam narasimha garbham (VP Ślokam 23)

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(iv) Position of Gods:

The position of the Gods has also been dealt with by Śrī Deśika. Lord Śriman

nārāyan a8 is the only Supreme Being. Other Gods are merely agents entrusted

with several duties. They are not independent. Their position as Gods are due

to the ‘karma’ performed by them in their previous births.9 They too form the

body of the Supreme Lord.10 The 10th ślokā of varadarāja Pañcāśat explains

this idea.

prāptodayeshu varada tvadanupravesāt

padmāsanādishu śivādishu kañcukeshu |

tanmātra darśana vilobhita śemushīkāh

tādātmya mūd hamatayo nipatantyadhirāh ||

The Gods, Brahmā and others are depending upon the “anupraveśa” of the

Lord for their actions. The same idea has been expressed by Śri Deśika

himself in ‘Rahasya traya’.11 Brahmā and Rudra also form the body of the

Lord and they too are liable to ‘pleasure’ and ‘pain’. Their jurisdiction is

limited and they look forward to Lord Vishnu for the performance of their

actions. They are supposed to simply carry out the orders of Śri Vishnu.

Depending upon their completion of duty - successful or otherwise - they get

sukha or duhkha12. Laymen consider Vishnu as one of the three incarnations in

the trio - Brahmā, Vishnu and Rudra - on par with the other incarnation,

matsya etc. But it must be pointed out that the Gods Rudra and Brahmā are

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known only through the Vedas, but Lord Vishnu is the saviour of the Vedas

themselves. His status as the ‘assigner’ of duties to Brahmā and Rudra is made

clear by Śri Deśika.

The human beings in this world are divided into three classes viz.,

(i) nityasūrayah

(ii) baddhāh and

(iii) muktāh

The ‘Mukthas’ are those who have been caught once in the ocean of life, have

got rid of their bondages and live now in Vaikuntha. They have surrendered

themselves totally unto the Lord and always remain as devotees of the Lord.

Contacts with them is capable of turning even the ‘jīvaloka’ into Vaikuntha

says Śrī Deśika in Varadarāja Pañcāśat It is the Lord himself who develops the

desire to attain ‘Moksha’ in the minds of the devotees. It is He who makes

them contemplate on the eternal problems of life namely - Wherefrom did the

jīvās come? How did they come, how to get out of the worldly life, etc?

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NOTES

1. kartā sāstrārthavattvāt --(Bra. sū. 2.3.33)

2.

śāsanam ca pravartanam, śāstrasya ca pravartakatvam bodha janana dvārena |

atah śāstrānāmarthatvam bhoktuścetanasyaiva kartr ve bhavet ||

(Sri. bha. 2.3.33)

3. Sri. bha. 2.3.6. adhi.

4. V.P.3. A.V. Gopalachariar

5. V.P. 3

6. Sakarmakāva bhāsatvam, sakartr kāvabhāsatvam iti tallakshan am

-- (nya. si. P.N.249)

7. (a) prati purushaniyata sarvagocara svabhava=pi samsārāvasthayām

karman ā samkucitā tatat karmānuguna tāratamyavatī indriyādhīna

prasran ā | (n.yā.si. P.N. 247)

(b) ajñanena āvr tam jñānam, jñāvirodhina pūrva pūrva karman ā

svaphalānubhava yogyatvāya asya jñānam āvr tam sa m kucitam

-- (G. B. 5.15)

(c) pralaghusan kucitaprākaśah (V. P. 4)

8 & 9. See Tamil text under the title - ~. jIvatfmavi[f t[fAmkqf /

(w.) Etvafkqi[f ni^l, Foot notes 11 & 12

10. V.P Slokam 10 - prāptodayeshu varada tvadanupravesāt-----

11 & 12. See Tamil text under the title - ~. jIvatfmavi[f t

[fAmkqf / (w.) Etvafkqi[f ni^l

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Śriman nārāyana is the Supreme Lord

According to Viśishtādvaitha philosophy, Sri nārāyanā is the only

Supreme Being. The jīvās are expected to have unflinching faith in Him to

attain Moksha. The Lord’s supremacy is divided on the following grounds:

His supremacy cannot be decided.

His authority is intransgressible.

His authority is not derived from any other source.

His authority does not depend upon anybody else for its execution.

His consideration of the well being of his devotees as His own.

The śrutis, smr tis, Purānās, Ithihāsas all go to prove that Śrī nārāyanā is the

only Supreme Lord. Śrī Deśika has stressed this point in his ‘catusśloki

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bāshyā’ and ‘Rahasyatrayasārā.’ The same idea is set forth in Varadarāja

Pañcāśat also. All other Gods are only subordinate to Him. They are created

and sustained by Śrī nārāyanā only.

The nature of the Lord:

The Lord is of a form of knowledge and Bliss (jñāna and ānandā). The

Pañcarātra texts state this fact with authority. The Lord has seven-fold nature.

They are:

(i) He is a repository of all kalyānagunās and is free from all blemishes and

faults1. This quality is known as ubhayalin ga.

(ii) He is nityodita and śāntodita.

(iii) He is nitya devoid of a beginning and an end.

(iv) He is para and he is over and above all creations.

(v) He is sarvagata he is omnipresent.

(vi) He is susūkshma - minutest minute among the subtle indescribable.

(vii) He is ānandamaya of the form of Supreme joy.

These concepts have been dealt with by Śrī Deśika in Varadarāja Pañcaśat.

The form of the Lord:

The Lord’s form is set out thus in the pañcarātra āgamas:

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Like His nature, His form is also full of auspicious aspects. The

yekāyanaśākha of the śuklayajurveda says that the Lord’s form is akin to His

nature2. He is divyamangalavigraha. He has five-fold forms.

Para: This aspect of the Lord refers to His form in Vaikun tha 3.

Vyūha: This refers to the creative aspect of the Lord. He divides Him-

self into four-fold forms, once again into paramātman, jīvātman, ahan k āra and

mahat. These four are akin to Vāsudeva, san karshana, Pradhyumna and

aniruddha. These four form the four faces of the viśākhastambha.4

antaryāmi: The Lord resides in the heart of each and every jīva. He

guides them from inside. While describing this aspect of the Lord, a poet

wonders how the Lord who bears the burden of the entire earth remains inside

jīvas in such a minute form.5

Vibhava: This refers to the several incarnations of the Lord. The idea is

to punish the wicked and protect the good. The incarnations are innumerable

according to the Bhāgavat Gītā which says:

yadyadvibhūtimatsatva m śrīmadūrjitumeva vā |

tattadevāvagaccha tvam mama tejom =śasambhavam ||6

Yet ten of them are important. Among this ten, Śrī Deśika mentions only four

- varāha, narasimha, trivikrama and rāma in Varadarāja Pañcaśat. The

Kr shnavatārā is conspicuous by its absence. Perhaps the author thought it to

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be redundant since he speaks of the glory of Sri Varadarāja7. About

Varāhavātara the author says:

balākr tervat apalāśamitasya yasya

brahmān daman dalamabhūdudaraikadeśe |

tasyaiva tadvarada hanta katham prabhūtam

vārahamāsthitavato vapuradbhutam te || (V.P. Sl. 22)

The narasimhavatarā was taken by the Lord instantaneously when hiran ya

questioned the validity of the Lord’s existence in the pillar. Our author says

that the Lord who came out of a pillar that day is present in other places as

well8. The trivikrama aspect of the Lord brings out His all-pervasive nature.

He is within every animate and inanimate object of the world. He is the con-

tainer as also the contained. These aspects of the Lord are brought out by Śrī

Deśika in the following śloka:

brahmeti śan kara itīndra iti svarād iti

ātmeti sarvamiti sarvacarācārātman |

hastīśa sarvavacasāmavasānasīmam

tvām sarvakāran amuśntyanapāyavācah || --(V. P Sl. 12)

This śloka corresponds to the mantra in the nārāyana anuvāka of

Taittiryopanishad. The significance of the Brahmasūtra - śāstrayonitva -

adhikaran a.

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NOTES

1. VP.16

2. yadatmako bhagavān tadatmako vyakttih (VP. D.R. Com. P.N. 29)

3. V.P. Slokam 18

4. See V.P. Slokam 19

5. (a) antah pravishtah sāstā janānām ( Sri. bha I.I.I. PN.246)

(b) ya ātmani tishtān ……..yasyātma śarīram (B.R.G. PN. 398)

6. B.G. 10.41

7. It may be noted that Sri Jayadeva too omits Krshna-avatara since he treats

Kr shna

as the Supreme Lord in the Gita Govinda.

8. V.P Sloka 23.

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ON THE COMPASSION OF THE LORD:

The Supreme Lord is the repository of all the virtuous qualities (kalyānaguna)

according to Viśishtadvaita philosophy. The word ‘bhagavan’1 signifies only

this idea. The ‘kalyānagunās’ of the Lord speak only of this omniscient nature.

But at the same time, the Lord makes himself accessible even to common

people and that results out of His compassion or daya2. It is by his daya that

jīvas are able to survive against all odds.

According to Indian philosophy, they have to experience the results of all good

or bad deeds performed in previous births and in the present birth3. What is

the way to get out of this karmabandha? Different branches of philosophy

prescribe different means – as jñanamārga, bhaktimārga, karmamārga – taken

individually and collectively. But these ideas are difficult to be understood by

common man. Śrī Deśika simplifies the procedure and he presents the prob-

lem and the solution in a nutshell as it were.

The Veda, Itihāsa, Purānās, the hymns of the Ālwārs and the work of Śrī

Rāmānuja speak of śaran āgati - the self surrender and the best faith to get rid

of samsāra. The Śaran āgati is given in a lucid manner by Śrī Deśika thus4 -

“This Prapatti as a direct and immediate means for the attainment of salvation

was practised by the Ālwārs and Ācāryas like Āl avandār and Rāmānuja. But it

was Śrī Deśika who systematised and formulated śaran āgati as an immediate

means of salvation.”

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The śaran āgatitattva is based on the daya or the compassion of the Lord. But

for his dayā, any amount of śaran āgati is not going to help. That is why Śrī

Deśika has eulogised the dayā of the Lord by which the principle of śaran āgati

becomes self explanatory. Śrī Deśika has dealt with the dayā of the Lord Śrī

Venkat eśvara of Tirupati exclusively in his dayāśataka. In Varadarāja Pañcāśat

also, we find several verses dealing with the dayā of Lord Varadarāja of

Kañci. In spite of His numerous kalyān agunās, the Lord comes down to the

mortal world for the sake of His devotees and showers His blessings on them.

He presents Himself in the form of the arcamūrtis in several holy places. All

these go to prove that He is all compassion5. The realisation of this nature of

the Lord makes us conscious of his own limitations.

A man who knows his limitations will always be watchful of his acts and

refrain himself from evil ways. He will engage himself in the service of his

fellow devotees and the Lord. He will consider the Lord himself as the bridge

that helps one to cross the ocean of life6. The worldly life is full of miseries.

An indulgement in this will lead one to nowhere, as Sri Āl avandār puts it:

bhavantamevā=nucaran nirantaram

prāśānta niśśesha manorathāntarah |

kadā=hamaikāntika nitya kin karah

praharshayishyāmi sanāthajīvithah ||7

“The ignorance is pervading everywhere. Meaningless philosophies and

strictures are attacking from all quarters. The atmosphere is heavily overcast

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by a dense cloud of worldly objects”. To make matters worse, the way is lost.

The same idea is expressed by Śrī Deśika:

“Both the inlet and outlet are lost sight of. There is no hold even. The eyes

are blinded.”8 Man himself is responsible for this state. Unless he pleads for

the daya of Lord, there is no redemption.

PRAPATTI (ŚARANAGATI):

The śaran agāti doctrine is the pivotal point in the philosophy of Śrī Rāmānuja.

The Lord has given the jīvas independence to act. But if the independence is

misused, the jīva gets bound by the samsārabandha. But on the other hand, if a

jīva surrenders humbly, totally unto the Lord and knows his limitations and

realises that he is totally dependent on the Lord, he gets relieved from all mis-

eries of worldly existence. This idea has been brought out by Śrī Deśika in the

following sloka:

hastīśa duh kha visha digdha phalānubandhini

ābrahmakīt amaparāhata sam prayoge |

dushkarma sañcaya vaśād duratikrame nah

pratyastramañjalirasau tava nigrahāstre || -- (VP Sl.30)

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UTTARAKR TYA :

Śrī Deśika has explained the steps to be followed by the ‘Prapannas’ after their

taking to ‘prapatti’, vividly in his ‘Rahasyatrayasāra’. In Varadarāja Pañcāśat

again the author brings out these ideas in a nutshell. The guidelines for the

‘Prapannas’ as suggested by Śrī Deśika are:

(i). Association with co-devotees.

(ii). Remaining in the vicinity of Lord Varadarāja.

(iii). Having the unflinching faith and devotion in Him.

(iv). Being at His mercy.

MUKTI :

The concept of Mukti is common to all branches of Indian philosophy, though

it is defined differently by them. According to one view, Mukti is the cessation

from all miseries. According to others, it is the enjoyment of Supreme Joy.

The concept of Mukti has been touched upon Śrī Deśika in the following śloka

of Varadarāja Pañcāśat:

nirantaram nirviśatastvadīyam

aspr shta cintāpadamābhirūpyam |

satyam śape vāran a śailanātha

vaikun thavāse=pi na me=bhilāshah ||-- (V.P. Sl 49)

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The author seems to be of the opinion that the service rendered to the Lord is

capable of giving blissful joy that is equal to that of Mukti. This blissful joy is

equal to that attained even in Vaikuntha.

THE ĀVIRBHĀVĀ OF THE LORD: The pilgrim centre of Kāñci has been acclaimed as one of the sacred ones.

Here the Lord presents Himself on a hillock which is called ‘hastigiri’. The

Lord is called Varadarāja in Sanskrit, literally meaning the ‘Giver of Boons’.

There is a mythological account of the shrine here. Once Lord Brahmā wanted

to serve the feet of Lord Varadarāja and so performed severe penance in order

to get a darśan of the Lord. But he did not succeed in his attempt. Then on

hearing a heavenly voice, he performed a sacrifice, making the hastigiri as the

Vedic altar. At the end of the sacrifice, there arose from the altar, a divine light

followed by a divine chariot. Seated in the chariot was Lord Varadarāja.

Brahmā worshipped Him to his delight. The Lord too, granting his request,

remained in the same place in the same form, granting boons to His devotees.

The Lord also accepted the oblation offered to all the Gods. This idea is set

out in the following sloka:

tattatpadairupahite=pi turan gamedhe

śakrādayo varada pūrvamalabdhabhāgāh |

adhyakshite makhapatau tvayi caksushaiva

hairan yagarbha havishām rasamanvabhūvan || -- (VP Sl. 8)

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THE FESTIVALS OF LORD VARADARĀJĀ:

Śrī Deśika mentions about the following festivals sacred to Sri Varadarāja.

Details of these festivals are found in ‘Hastigirimāhātmya’ section of Brahmān

d a Purāna. Śrī Deśika specifically mentions ‘Garuda Sevā’, chariot, palanquin

and horse, sacred to Śrī Varadarāja. The ‘Garuda Sevā’ festival takes place on

the third day during the Vaiśākhā festival. This festival perpetuates the mem-

ory of ‘Gajendramoksha’ when the Lord responded to the call of the elephant

and saved it from the crocodile. The Lord here is called ‘Gajendravarada’. The

following ślokā describes this festival of the Lord:

turaga vihagarāja syandanāndol ikādishu

adhikamadhikamanyāmātmaśobhām dadhānam |

anavadhika vibhūtim hastiśaileśvaram tvām

anudinamanimeshairlocanairnirviśeyam || -- (V.P. Sl. 48)

The other festival referred to by our author is the ‘Jyesht ābisheka’. The Lord

normally wears golden armour. But on the day of jyeshtā (EkdfAd-Kettai)

during the month of mituna (~[i-āni), the armour is removed and the Lord

is given a sacred bath. A darshan of the Lord during his ‘Thirumanjanam’ is

indeed most sacred. The ‘ekāntasevā’ and ‘viśvarūpadarśana sevā’ have also

been mentioned by the poet. This ślokā is recited as a ‘suprabhāta’ even today.

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NOTES

1. aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasah śriyāh |

jñana vairagyayoścaiva shan nam bhaga itīran ā||

--(Sri. Bha. Vol. I. PN 214)

2. See VP. Sl. 33.

3. See dayaśataka Sl. 15

4. See VP - D. Ramaswamy Ayyangar – Com. PN 50.

5. See VP Sl. 26.

6. VP . 31.

7. Āl avantār Stotra Ratnam Sl. 46

8. See V.P. 34

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Varadarāja Pañcāśat - A literary estimate:

Śrī Deśika is not only a philosopher but also a poet. His Yadavābhudaya,

Hamsasandeśa and Sankalpasūryodaya conform to the tradition of literature in

Sanskrit. He reveals his poetical instinct, in his stotras also. It would be

highly rewarding if one peeps into this aspect of the work on hand.

METRICAL ANALYSIS OF VARADARĀJA PAÑCAŚAT:

The metres employed in Varadarāja Pañcaśat are:

ala n kārās in Varadarāja Pañcāśat

No. of Slo- Place

1. Vasantatilaka 43 Ślokās Ślokās 2 - 44

2. Mālini 4 1, 47, 48, 51

3. Mandākrantā 2 45, 50

4. Pushpitāgra 1 46

5. upajāti 1 49

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1. upama :

nagācaleśa nikhilopanishanmanīshā -

mañjūshikā marakatam paricinvathā m tvām |

tanvī hrdi sphurati kā=pi śikhā munīnām

saudāmanīva nibhr ta navameghagarbhā || --(V.P. Sl. 20)

Here the appearance of an indescribable flame occurring in the mind of

the devotees engaged in the worship of Varadarāja is compared to the sudden

flash of lightning amidst dense clouds.

In another ślokā, the author brings out the fortune of ardent devotees like ‘Śrī

Thirukkacchi Nambi’ who experiences immense joy in performing service to

the Lord through his humble ‘kalyān a gunās’ remain hidden. Such devotees

are comparable to aruna who always enjoys the proximity of the Sun even

when he is covered by clouds.1

2. arthantaranyāsah :

Even the prattling of a parrot gives immense pleasure to those who have

trained it. Even the incoherent words of the devotees are bound to please the

Lord, since it is He who has given the faculty of speech.2

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3. Vyatirekah :

There is vyatirekālan kāra in the distinction that is brought out between

an ordinary bridge and the bridge that helps us cross the ocean of life, which is

nothing but the prapatti towards Lord Varadarāja. The other bridge built with

human effort is useless in the case of samsārasāgara.3

4. Rūpaka :

In another ślokā, the author identifies Śrī Varadarāja with a treasure, the

kāvya with darkness and the bhaktas4 devotion with siddhañjana. Unable to

find the object of darkness, one applies siddhañjana after which he is able to

see it clearly. Likewise, the devotion and faith will reveal the treasure of Śrī

Varadarāja.

Ślokā :

nityam karīśa timirāvila dr shtayo=pi

siddhañjanena bhavataiva vibhūshitākshāh |

paśyantyuparyupari sañcaratāmadr śyam

māyā nigūdhamanapāya mahānidhim tvām || -- (V.P. Sl. 28)

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5. svābhavokttih

We have svābhavokttih in the following ślokā. Though we are incapable

of any expression, the Lord’s mercy makes us pour out poetry, says the author:

stotram mayā viracitam tvadadhīnavācā

tvatprītaye varada yat tadidam na citram |

āvarjayanti hr dayam khalu śikshakān ā m

mañjuni pañjaraśakuntavijalpitāni || --(V.P. Sl. 6)

The sentiment:

The chief sentiment in Varadarāja Pañcāśat is śānta. The main theme

centers around the attainment of Liberation from the worldly life and

detachment from worldly affairs is often stressed. Here śanta is pradhāna. The

following ślokā may be quoted as an instance:

vyātanvānā tarun a tul asīdāmabhih svāmabhikhyām

mātañgadrau marakataruci m pushnati mānase nah |

bhogaiśvarya priyasahacaraih kā=pi lakshmīkat ākshaih

bhūyah śyāmā bhuvanajananī devatā sannidhattām ||

-- (V.P. Sl. 50)

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Other sentiments also find their place in the work but they are subordinate to

śānta. We have instances of śrn gāra, karuna, vīra, raudra, bhayānaka etc. in

many places.

The Style:

Śrī Deśika adopts the Gaudīriti in certain places and Vaidarbhi style in

certain other places. The following ślokā can be quoted as an instance of

Gaudī style:

nirvāpayishyati kadā kariśailadhāman

durvāra karma paripāka mahādavāginim |

prācīna duh khamapi me sukhyanniva tvat –

padāravinda paricarā rasa pravāhah || -- (V.P. Sl. 41)

Here the 2nd and the 4th quarters are compounds of long compounds with

harsh letters. Śrī Deśika adopts the drāksa and nārikelapāka as suited to the

sentiments delineated and the situation described. For example, sloka 45 can

be quoted as an instance of drāksapāka.

bhūyo bhūyah pulakanicitaih angakairedhamānāh

sthūlasthūlān nayanamukulair bibhrato bāshpabindun |

dhanyāh kecidvarada bhavatah samsadam bhūshayantah

svantairantarvinaya nibhr taih svādayante pada m te ||

The following sloka can be cited as an example of nārikelapāka.

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muktah svayam sukrtadushkrta śr n khalābhyām

arcirmukhairadhikr tairativāhitādhvā |

svacchanda kinkaratayā bhavatah karīśa

svabhāvika m pratilabheya mahādhikāram || -- (V.P. Sl. 42)

Dhvani

The dhvani aspect is handled very effectively by our author in many places.

For example, in sloka 13, the word ājñā is in feminine gender. It is suggested

here that a man who fails to unite his wife during the r tu period loses the

opportunity to beget noble sons and wastes his life.

āśādhipeshu giriśeshu caturmukheshvapi

avyāhatā vidhinishedhamayi tavājñā |

hastīśa nityamanupalana lan ghanabhyām

pumsām śubhaśubhamayāni phalāni sūte ||

NOTES

1. See V.P. Sl. 27

2. See V.P. Sl. 11

3. See V.P. Sl. 31

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CONCLUSION A careful assessment of the points discussed will reveal that the Varadarāja

Pañcāśat is a small but important work not only with respect to Vaishnava lot

but also with respect to Sanskrit lot. The main point stressed in this work is

the śaran āgati doctrine. The work is also of historic importance since we come

to know through it about festivals, the cultural and religious atmosphere in his

days and other aspects connected with society in general. The work enhances

the value of the arcārūpās of the Lord. The work though small, therefore, has

claimed the attention of scholars, philosophers and religious leaders alike from

the time of its composition. It is no wonder that this work is recited as part of

daily prayer and commented upon widely from several angles in several parts

of India.

SrI BhU Devi Sametha Sri Varadharaja Perumal Image Courtesy: Sri Narasimhan Sampathkumar

ThiruvayyāRu Sanskrit College ThiruvayyāRu Sanskrit College ThiruvayyāRu Sanskrit College and and and

The Eternal Relevance of SanskritThe Eternal Relevance of SanskritThe Eternal Relevance of Sanskrit

By Śrī nrŚrī nrŚrī nr simha sevā rasikansimha sevā rasikansimha sevā rasikan

Oppiliappan Koil Śrī Varadāchāri ŚatOppiliappan Koil Śrī Varadāchāri ŚatOppiliappan Koil Śrī Varadāchāri Śat hakopanhakopanhakopan

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Invited Paper for Raja College, ThiruvayyARu's Conference on Sanskrit during the occasion of the 125th Anniversary of its Founding. Raja College, ThiruvayyARu is a famous institution, is part of the 25 colleges attached to Bharathi Daasan Univeristy and supported by Srimath PeriyANDa-van Aasramam.

( Reference: Eternal Relevance of Sanskrit, Dated March 28, 2006. India-Forum - http://www.india-forum.com/ )

The relevance of Sanskrit for modern times is significant and multifaceted. We

will briefly explore here the eternal relevance of Sanskrit language and

literature for now and forever. A study of these treasures bequeathed to us by

Sages and scholars of ancient times are absolutely relevant to us, in all aspects

of our lives.

All the modern languages of India are considered rightfully as the children of

Sanskrit, which has evolved in a seamless manner from the earlier Vedic

language.

At one end, Sanskrit is tied to the earliest literary and scientific record of the

human race and at the other end is connected to the modern advances in

esoteric areas of inquiry such as Theoretical Computer Science (TCS).

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SANSKRIT AND COMPUTER SCIENCE The recent work in TCS has established that the concepts fundamental to TCS

have their origin in the classical work of Sage PaaNini on Sanskrit grammar

(AshtAdhyAyi).

PaNini’s comprehensive and soundly scientific theory of phonetics, phonology

and morphology going back to 2500 years is opening many doors to the

advances in software development. The power of PaNini’s grammar has been

identified with the power of the Turing Machine of modern times because of

the sophistication and the farsightedness of PaNini’s handling of meta-rules,

transformations and recursions.

The ongoing work of Dr. P. Ramanuja of C-DAC, Dr. Laksmi TatachAr of

Melkote Sanskrit Academy, Dr. John Backus of IBM and others on this topic

point out the extraordinary relevance of Sanskrit, the language known for its

Mathematical precision in the context of modern day software development.

SANSKRIT AND MATHEMATICS In the field of Mathematical sciences deeply influenced by algebra, the

structure of Sanskrit language with links to the algebraic nature of Indian

Mathematics has the potential to make additional innovative contributions in

astronomy and architecture and bridge the gap between Sanskrit and the

modern world.

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SANSKRIT AND LIFE SCIENCES

In the field of Aayur Veda, the doors of the vast knowledge base relating to

Medical Sciences ( herbal/mineral based drug development/Pharmacology,

study of Human anatomy, performance of Surgical operations, treatment of in-

fant diseases, management of Gerontology and Veterinary Sciences)is just

about being opened. The Science and Technology of Aayur Veda is deeply

embedded in Atharva Veda.

Many decades of work are needed to identify the herbs and flowers referred to

in the different sections of Atharva Veda. Advances in the treatment of killer

diseases like Malaria, Tuberculosis (Kashaya rhOgam), Cholera, Diabetes and

Small pox are very much possible from research on the relevant insights of

Aayurvedic texts. Susruta’s and Charaka’s and evolving work on Aayurvedic

Samhitas have enormous significance to modern times to treat the ills of the

body and mind in a holistic manner.

SANSKRIT AND ASTRONOMY

Significant insights to advance modern day astronomy are waiting to be gained

from Sanskrit texts of Aryabhatta, VarAhamihira, Brahmagupta and

BhaskarachArya. The SiddhAntha SiromaNi of BhaskarAchArya has the

following four sections:

(1) LilAvathi: a treatise on pure Arithmetics, Number theory from One to tril-

lions and positioning of digits.

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(2) Bhija Ganitha (Treatise on Algebra as an introduction to astronomy /Graha

Ganitha). Simple, Simultaneous, quadratic equations and those with a large

number of unknowns (vargaprakruti) are covered here.

(3) & (4) Graha GaNita and GoLAdhyAya deal directly with astronomy.

Astronomical instruments, geometry and geography are covered in these two

chapters.

HUMANITIES, ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY

Although we have focused so far on Science and Technology aspects and their

links to Sanskrit in modern times, there is a whole realm of humanities like

Dharma Sastras /Neethi Sastras (Manu Smrithi, Bartruhari's Nithi Sataka),

Laws and Jurisprudence, Economical Sciences (arTa Saastra), the IthihAsAs

and PurANAs, Historical tales and fables that have relevance to develop

comity between the various communities of a nation and between the different

nations.

SANSKRIT AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

The engine that propels modern business is based on the use of optimal

Management tools and resources in a timely and efficient manner to get the

tasks done. The Western management style puts key emphasis on the

development of strategic thinking, motivation of workers and display of

leadership for generating profit and not for the welfare of the human kind. This

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management approach and the fruits derived from there creates and sustains

built-in tension between the Manager and the worker.

This style of managerial approach has been described as "Aasuri Sampath" or

demonic approach in Bhagavath Gita. The opposite approach in achieving

managerial effectiveness has been described by GitAchAryan as "Dhaivee

Sampath" or Divine approach.

GitAchAryan defines the characterstrics of the Manager with Dhaivee

Sampath in Gita XV1.2:

“Causing Non-injury, dwelling on truth alone, displaying freedom from anger,

renouncing fruits of action, demonstrating tranquility, avoiding fault-finding,

displaying compassion to human beings, showing freedom from desire for

sense objects, exercising gentleness, modesty and steadiness in dealing with

others”.

This type of Manager (adhikAri) has vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity,

freedom from malice and excessive pride (Gita XVI.3).

The one with the Aasuri sampath demonstrates ostentation, arrogance,

self-conceit, anger, rudeness and ignorance"(Gita XVI.4).

In summing up the qualities of one with the demonic disposition, GitAchAryan

identifies a triad of guNAs (Passion, anger and greed) that lands him into

darkness, unfulfilment in managing given tasks and unhappiness. The

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adhikAri, who is free from these three gates to darkness strives for the good of

the Self and attains the highest goal. GitAchAryan defines thus the most opti-

mal approach to work and managing others. This is indeed a message for all

times.

In the third chapter dealing with Karma yoga, GitAchAryan advocates the

performance of one’s duties without attachment to them in a spirit of

advancing the welfare of the world (loka samgraham).

GitAcharyan points out that all actions are done by the influence of guNas of

Prakruthi and not by the individual self. Our AchAryan explains that the

performance of one's duties with this understanding does not lead one to at-

tachment to the actions and helps to overcome egoism. This message about the

development of mental attitude in the performance of one’s work is not a time

bound message and is an eternal message for Management Sciences.

Using Sanskrit as His language of choice, GitAchAryan instructs us all with

His eternal (modern) message of self-transcendence and approaching work

with the renouncement of one's ego and avoid sole focus on the fruits thereof.

It has been pointed out that GitAchAryan’s approach to Management is at the

grass roots level as opposed to the Western approach, which is at a superficial

level. That grass roots level approach is linked to the development of attitude

(equanimity) with respect to the success or failure of the action undertaken

(Gita II.48).

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By performing one’s duties this way, one develops steadfast wisdom (Sthita

praj~na) and realizes “karamsu kousalam” (adroitness in the execution of one's

duties in this world).

A PRAYER

The many meanings given to the word "Sanskrit" are: “refined, sanctified,

complete, perfect, cultured and definitive”. It has been said that “Sanskrit

language is a marvel of marvels, an epitome of a people’s genius”.

May the eternally fragrant blossoms of Sanskrit rooted in the genius of the

people of BhAratha Varsham dealing with every aspect of human knowledge

thrive and prosper to address the needs of the modern world!

May the fruits of the strivings of Educational institutions like the Sanskrit

College at ThiruvayyARu reach out to the entire world!

Subhamasthu!

By: V Sadagopan

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Swami Desikan Thiruvadigale Sarananam